Today I Learned How NoT to Make Turkish Delight

-Lesson from Saturday, February 27, 2010-

If you don't know what Turkish Delight is, you should check out the following video link:

Edmund Eating Turkish Delight

*Sigh* - It looks so tasty. Now, on to the lesson.

You know...there are moments in life that you can look back and revel in your great success, in your achievement and the glory of that moment.

And there are moments like these when you begin to wonder if the Frankencandy you created will ever release your teeth from its powerful grip. Will I be forced to suck my nutrition from a straw for the rest of my life? How can something so tasty be so evil? Can you die from laughing this hard? Sometimes trying to learn something will just leave you with more questions...

I have been excited for days now about the possibility of making Turkish Delight. I even made rose water from scratch in order to make it. But, unfortunately I did not learn the proper way to make Turkish Delight today. That's not to say that I didn't learn anything today. Quite the contrary. I learned how NoT to make Turkish Delight today. Probably one of many ways. Although I prefer not to learn any more.

I'm not a big Woody Allen fan, but I read one of his quotes recently that could certainly apply to this situation:

"If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative."

So, in reviewing this process I will take comfort in the idea that at least I tried to do something interesting, and can move forward with the information I've gained and apply it to my next attempt.

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Here is how you're supposed to make Turkish delight...

Step #1 - Mix sugar, lemon juice and water together and heat until 240F.

What did I learn from this?

1. Wire whisks and Teflon pans do not mix.

2. I am overdue to buy a new medium-sized saucepan.

3. Teflon flecks are not an appetizing ingredient.

So, after scrapping that batch of ruined sugar mixture, I went on to mix up a better one, in a better pan. Going good. For the moment anyway. Until I faced the next step.

Step #2 - Mix cornstarch, cream of tartar and water over heat until it's glue-like.

Now, the directions said,
"when the mixture achieves a glue-like consistency, stop stirring."

I think this was the major hitch in our attempt today.

In the recipe video, their mixture looked like a thicker version of Elmer's glue.

Now that I look at theses pictures I realize that ours looked more like

the school paste that comes with an orange lid and a stick.

What did I learn from this?

1. Gooey and gloppy is better than pasty and thick.

2. This stuff may look like frosting, but is NOT tasty. Bleh.

Step #3 - Add gluey mixture to sugar mixture.

What did I learn from this?

1. If it's pasty, the mixture turns into hard little flecks the consistency of cartilage.

2. No amount of stirring will fix this.

At this point, I was torn. Do I follow through with the rest of the recipe even though I know this batch is ruined? Do I scrap it all and start over? It was time to call My Reinforcement back to the kitchen.You remember the guy . . . Super Hubby

His solution was simple.

"Let's just strain out the flecks."

I laughed out loud. Pouring molten hot candy through a sieve? First of all, that sounded dangerous. Second of all, it didn't even seem like it would work. But he smiled confidently at me, with a "What do we have to lose?" expression.

Ok. Alright. Let's give it a try...

What did I learn from this?

1. Sometimes crazy ideas work.

2. Sometimes crazy ideas work, but it still doesn't matter.

3. My husband is willing to sustain injuries to find out what Turkish delight tastes like.

No wonder Edmund was willing to betray his brother and sisters.

The intrigue of this stuff makes you do crazy things...

Well, we continued to follow the directions. We were aware that it might not turn out as planned, since a good portion of the gluey mixture didn't get integrated into the batch. But we marched on, anyway. And after the long stirring time was done we poured it into our pan and hoped for the best.

After the cooling time had passed we tried it.

Instead of being jelly-like and soft,

we had made the largest Sugar Daddy I'd ever seen.

And even though it glued my teeth together, it tasted really good.

I'll keep dreaming of what it will be like to bite into a soft jelly Turkish delight.

Until then, I'll keep you posted.