[Candy-making Filter] Help me improve my Turkish Delight?

November 28, 2007 9:34 AM

I have made Turkish Delight about ten times, and not once have I been satisfied with the results. Either the candy ends up limp and flaccid, or it's full of crunchy little sugar crystals. No matter how much I stir, no matter how precise I am with the heat ... I always end up with a sugary mess. Your thoughts?
posted by mr. remy to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Response by poster: I will use this recipe:

4 cups sugar
4 1/2 cups water
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon rose water
1 tablespoon orange-flower water

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
posted by mr. remy at 9:38 AM on November 28, 2007

Are you at a high altitude? That would decrease the boiling point and the temperature you needed to cook the candy to.
posted by missmle at 9:39 AM on November 28, 2007

Response by poster: I am in L.A., and it's dry as a bone, too.
posted by mr. remy at 9:44 AM on November 28, 2007

If you add a bit of light corn syrup to the sugar syrup it will help prevent crystal formation.
posted by jedicus at 9:50 AM on November 28, 2007

The corn syrup should work wonders, but also review your recipe and others like it: does it call for stirring? Plenty of candy recipes specify no stirring, since agitation encourages crystal formation... or so I was taught as a child.
posted by Elsa at 10:46 AM on November 28, 2007

I wonder if this technique for preventing sugar crystals in caramels would apply: While the mix is cooking, each time that stirring deposits some of it to harden on the sides of the pot, wash it down with a pastry brush dipped in ice water.
posted by daisyace at 2:10 PM on November 28, 2007

Best answer: Candy making is a strict chemistry problem. You need to accurately measure, heat to the right temperature, and agitate to the proper degree and at the right times.

It sounds like you're not cooking at the right temperature. Turkish Delight is a kind of fudge/divinity, from the look of the recipe. Be careful to cook exactly to the soft ball stage, and not a second longer or shorter. (check with a thermometer and cold water. Don't go cheap on the thermometer, either - they'll be off) Too short, and you've got gum. Too long and there's gritty crap.

Also, you can screw up any candy by stirring or not - this looks like you want to stir lots to encourage many teensy fine crystals to form, not leave it alone to make lots of larger ones.

When you put your extracts in matters, as well - I really have had the best luck at the end, so you're only dealing wiht sugar and water, plus the corn syrup as a stabilizer (I only make fudge or pralines, though, so I'm extrapolating).

If you've been using the same brand of sugar, you might want to switch - Spreckles has given me trouble. Domino seems to behave. Also, I'm not sure if this more fudge or jelly, but you might want to try a recipe with gelatin, to see it that's more what you're going for.

Finally, that recipe may not be right - take a trip around the web, and eye the ratio of sugar to liquids on them - it looks like yours isn't quite right for fudge or praline, so it could be messing stuff up.

Here's some fine video from the exploratorium about what it should all look like, and more details on the whole process.

Good luck! It's a challenge.

PS You could try heading to the Armenian section of town and trying to sweet talk someone into explaining the whole process to you...
posted by beezy at 6:36 PM on November 28, 2007

I remember being smitten with the idea of Turkish Delight as a little girl, because of a 70s cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. As it turns out, it actually sucks in real life.
posted by thebellafonte at 11:36 AM on November 29, 2007