Loukoum

Turkish delight

An assortment of Turkish delight
Alternative names	Lokum
Course	Sweet
Place of origin	Ottoman Empire,Persia
Created by	Hacı Bekir Efendi
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Starch, sugar
Variations	Multiple

Turkish delight, lokum or rahat lokum and many other transliterations (Ottoman Turkish: رَاحَة الْحُلْقُوم‎ rāḥat al-ḥulqūm, Turkish: Lokum or rahat lokum, from colloquial Arabic: راحه الحلقوم‎‎ rāḥat al-ḥalqūm, Azerbaijani: /lɑːtiɡum/ ) is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are mostly flavored with rosewater, mastic, Bergamot orange, or lemon. The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar, copra, or powdered cream of tartar, to prevent clinging. Other common flavors include cinnamon and mint. In the production process, soapwort may be used as an emulsifying additive.

The exact origin of these sweets is yet to be definitively determined; however, "lokum" comes from the Arabic Halkum or Al-Halkum. In the Arab world, Turkish delights are called rāḥat al-ḥulqūm (رَاحَة الْحُلْقُوم) which means "Throat Comfort".