Lee Rudolph wrote:

> Jack Fearnley > writes:

>>>I always thought Turkish delight was made of gelatin, sugar and
>>>suitable flavouring. Can anyone help with info on this?

>>Lee Rudolph wrote:
>
>>>Suitable flavo[u]ring *and colo[u]ring*: cochineal.
>
>>Is your answer authoritative or just a very reasonable guess?
>
> Well, it's a very reasonable guess backed up by a brief search
> with Google that found at least one recipe for Turkish delight
> that included optional cochineal (if color were desired); I say
> "at least one" because I stopped reading the results after I read
> that one. Not authoritative, no.

The answer is authoritative because it is a frequent ingredient in
traditional rahat lokum. Red was and is a popular color for the confection.

But "gelatin, sugar and suitable flavoring" is a simplified version.
Others employ corn starch alone or in combination with the gelatin.
Still others are formulated with gum Arabic or other congealing agents.
It's called rahat lokum in Turkish (or something close in other
languages because of transliteration). For an interesting read, check
out <http://www.arilokum.com.tr/en/turkish_delight.asp> where it says,
among other things:

"Lokum derives from the word of rahat-ul hulküm; (literally soothing to
the throat) which is used in Ottoman language. Turkish delight, had been
known in Anatolia since 15th century but it had become widespread in the
borders of the Ottoman Empire. Lokum, has also started to be known by
the name of Turkish Delight through the medium of a British traveller in
Europe in 18th century. Previously, Turkish delight has been produced by
the composition of honey or grape molasses and flour. In 17th
century,through the invent and the bring of rafined sugar that had been
known as Kelle sekeri and especially strach in our country, both the
production and taste of Turkish delight has changed. At the present day
some of the major manufacturing firms with ahead of the Ari Lokum are
producing Turkish delight as a result of a healthy and hygienic
production process in completely automatic machines."

One of the traditional flavorings is mastic, a sparely used resinous sap
that's reminiscent of turpentine or retsina. Pistachios and other nuts
were comparatively recent additions.

Pastorio