Traditional Turkish sweets that are worth tasting in Turkey

TURKISH SWEETS

While on vacation in Turkey, it would be a sin not to try the local cuisine and Turkish sweets. Turkey is an ideal place for lovers of all kinds of sweets. Here you can forget about healthy eating - it is simply impossible to resist this deliciousness, but who will count calories on vacation!

Most Turkish sweets are characterized by a large amount of sweet sorbet made from water, sugar and honey. If you haven’t had the pleasure of tasting Turkish sweets, you don’t know what the word “sweet” means! :)

The most popular sweets in Turkey

• BAKLAVA – there are a lot of different shapes and colors of this dessert, most often it has a form of a small square. Baklava came from Gaziantep. It is made from thin and crispy dough. Baklava consists of layers of phyllo dough, chopped nuts (such as walnuts, pistachios, almonds) and a syrup made from butter and sugar or honey.

• KÜNEFE - crispy kadayif dough (looking like threads) with sticky unsalted sheep's or goat's dal cheese. The cake is poured over with a sweet syrup based on water and sugar. Most often, this dessert is served with milk and bananas. The way to prepare this dessert is quite simple - just put the cheese between two layers of kadayif dough, fry on both sides until golden brown, and then just add the syrup. We can say that this dessert is definitely not inferior to baklava.

• KATMER - is made from phyllo dough, pistachios, butter and Turkish "kaymaku" (cheese similar to mascarpone). This dessert is served in the form of a roll or cake.

• KADAYIF- is a dough resembling fine thin threads, based on flour and water. The dessert contains kadayif threads, butter and nuts. This delicacy is baked in the oven until golden brown, and then poured over with sweet syrup (sugar and water).

• SÜTLAÇ- is a Turkish version of rice pudding, or rather a milk-rice-based dessert baked in the oven. The top of this treat should be golden and lightly browned.

• REVANI - Turkish semolina pie filled with syrup based on water, sugar and lemon. The dough is very sweet and moist and the semolina is very soft after soaking in syrup.

• TRILEÇE- is not a Turkish delicacy, but it is very popular in Turkey. This is a cake drenched in milk syrup and caramel sauce. The dough is very wet, even when pressed with a fork, milk spills out of the dough.

• GÜLLAÇ -is a popular dessert during Ramadan in Turkey. It is made from special large sheets of dough. Since the 13th century, this dessert has been served on tables in Turkish homes. The cake sheets are soaked in sweet milk and rose water, sandwiched with chopped nuts.

• AŞÜRE- is a traditional dessert with a jelly-like consistency. Ashura is served on the Muslim holiday Ashura, which is celebrated on the tenth day of the first month of Muharram. They say that the dessert must contain at least 7 ingredients. This is a rather unusual dessert because it is prepared from everything that is at home - wheat, beans, chickpeas, corn, rice. Dried fruits and nuts are also added to it and finally sprinkled with cinnamon and pomegranate seeds. It tastes best when it's warm!

• KAZANDIBI- is a milk dessert, or rather a thick vanilla pudding with a caramelized crust. You can find this signature dish in the form of a rolled roll.

• MUHALLEBI- is another dairy dessert that most closely resembles the Italian pannacotta. A mixture of milk and cream thickened with cornstarch.  Served with chopped pistachios or cinnamon.

• HELVA- or halva, very well known to everyone, it is prepared on the basis of caramel and sesame seed pulp. It is best to buy halva at bazaars or pastry shops. There are many types of halva in Turkey, but the most popular are halva with pistachios and cocoa.

• IRMIK HELVASI- is a Turkish dessert made on the basis of semolina, almonds and cinnamon fried in butter. It tastes a bit like halva, but the consistency is different, moister.

• LOKMA - simply put, these are small fried Turkish donuts soaked in sweet syrup, honey or chocolate.

• TULUMBA - something like donuts - in the shape of churros, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Soaked in a sweet syrup based on water, sugar and lemon, like most Turkish desserts. In terms of preparation, it is very similar to the Lokma dessert, it has a crisper structure due to the large amount of eggs it contains.

• TAVUK GÖĞSÜ - it's a chicken breast pudding. Chicken? Yes exactly! The dessert includes chicken breast, cut into thin slices, boiled in milk. The taste of meat is almost imperceptible due to the large amount of sugar. The consistency of the dessert is quite dense due to the share of chicken breasts.

• LOKUM- are gummies covered with powdered sugar, but you can also find a place with dried fruits, nuts and coconut flakes. Lokum is made from wheat flour or potato starch and sugar. Rose water, lemon and other fruity aromas are often added.

• PIŞMANIYE- is the Turkish dessert most bought by tourists as a gift. It looks like cotton candy or a cotton ball, and tastes like halva. The main ingredients are flour and sugar, as well as flavorings.

• CEVIZLI SUCUK - looks like a long sausage, and the name means "nut sausage". The main ingredients of this dessert are grapes, hazelnuts and flour. Walnuts, almonds, chocolate and raisins are also added. They are strung on a string and dipped in dark grape juice. After drying, its consistency becomes rubbery.

• KABAK TATLISI - is a dessert made from boiled and peeled pumpkin, cut into small square pieces. Candied pumpkins are usually watered with "tahini" - sesame paste and nuts.

• DONDURMA - Turkish ice cream. This ice cream has a completely different consistency than what we know, because it is thicker and more elastic, like chewing gum, and also tastes different. We recommend trying the goat milk ice cream!