What Is Turkish Delight? Flavors, Explained

Turkish delight (lokum) is a centuries-old gelled sweet made from starch and sugar, studded with nuts or flavored with rose, mastic, citrus, and more. It's soft, lightly chewy, dusted to keep the pieces from sticking — and nothing like the waxy impostors sold as novelty candy. Real lokum, made well, is one of the world's great confections.

The short answer: starch-and-sugar confection, often with nuts or fruit (lokum)

The recipe is ancient and simple: starch and sugar are cooked together until they form a soft gel, then flavored and set. The gel is cut into cubes and dusted — traditionally with powdered sugar, sometimes with coconut. The magic is in the proportions and the cooking time, which determine whether the result is tender and clean-tasting or gummy and dull.

Lokum dates back to the Ottoman Empire, where it was served in the palace and sold in the bazaars of Istanbul. The Since 1871 bakery has been part of that tradition for over 150 years. The Assorted Turkish Delight box (1000 g, roughly 36–39 pieces) gathers the essential varieties in one ribbon-wrapped gift box.

The classic flavors (plain, rose, mastic, pomegranate)

Plain (sade): the purist's lokum — just the gel, lightly dusted. Its flavor is subtle and clean, the confectionery equivalent of a blank canvas. Don't skip it; it's the benchmark.

Rose: the most famous variety, perfumed with rosewater and often tinted pink. When it's good, it tastes like a garden; when it's bad, it tastes like soap. Quality of the rosewater is everything.

Mastic: flavored with mastic resin from the Aegean — piney, aromatic, slightly resinous. It's the connoisseur's flavor and an acquired taste worth acquiring.

Pomegranate: tart-sweet and jewel-red, the modern classic. The fruit's acidity cuts the sweetness beautifully.

The nutty ones (pistachio, walnut, hazelnut)

Nuts transform lokum from a delicate sweet into something substantial. Pistachio lokum — studded with whole or chopped Antep pistachios — is the premium standard and the backbone of any good assortment. Walnut brings earthy richness; hazelnut brings a rounder, creamier note. In the 1000 g assorted box, the nutty pieces tend to disappear first — consider that a warning.

The chocolate-covered and modern varieties

Chocolate-covered lokum — usually a pistachio or plain center enrobed in dark or milk chocolate — bridges Turkish tradition and European confectionery. Citrus varieties (orange, lemon, bergamot) offer a brighter, fresher profile. The assorted box includes the range so you can find your own favorite without committing to a full box of one flavor.

How to serve and store it (room temp, airtight; 12 months)

Serve lokum at room temperature — cold mutes its delicate flavors. The classic pairing is unsweetened Turkish coffee: the bitter coffee and the sweet lokum were made for each other. It's also lovely with tea, or as the sweet finish to a cheese course.

Storage is easy: keep the box airtight at room temperature, away from humidity. Properly stored Turkish delight keeps for 12 months — twice as long as baklava's 6 months — which makes it one of the most forgiving gifts in the Turkish pantry. Never refrigerate; condensation makes the dusting sticky and the gel weepy.

Since 1871 Turkish delight is made in Turkey and shipped free — EU orders from Deventer, Netherlands; US orders from Turkey and New Jersey. It pairs naturally with the baklava gift boxes for a complete Turkish gift: the 25-piece Assorted Baklava Tin plus the 1000 g delight box is the combination that ends gift-giving anxiety.

Frequently asked questions

What is Turkish delight made of?

Starch, sugar, and water cooked into a gel, then flavored (rose, mastic, citrus, pomegranate) or studded with nuts (pistachio, walnut, hazelnut). That's the whole recipe — quality lives in the ingredients and the cooking.

How long does Turkish delight last?

12 months, stored airtight at room temperature in a cool, dry place. Keep it dry and never refrigerate it.

Is Turkish delight gluten-free?

Traditional lokum is made with starch (often corn or wheat starch) and contains no flour, but recipes vary — check the specific product's ingredient list if it matters for you.

What do you drink with Turkish delight?

Unsweetened Turkish coffee is the classic pairing — the bitterness balances the sweetness perfectly. Black tea works beautifully too.