The Real Story of Sweets: It's Beyond
Baklava
The
most well-known sweets associated with Turkish Cuisine are Turkish Delight,and
"baklava", giving the impression that these may be the typical desserts
eaten after meals. This, of course, is not true. First of all, the family
of desserts is much richer than just these two. Secondly, these are not
typical desserts served as part of main meal. For example, baklava and
its relatives are usually eaten With coffee, as a snack or after a kebab
dish. So, to further our education in Turkish cuisine we will survey the
various types of sweets. By far, the most common dessert after a meal is
fresh seasonal fruit that acquires its unique taste from an abundance of
sun and old-fashioned ways of cultivation and transportation. Spring will
start with strawberries, followed by cherries and apricots. Summer is marked
by pickles watermelons and melons. 
Then,
all kinds of grapes ripen in late summer, followed by green and purple
figs, plums, apples, pears and quince. Oranges, mandarin oranges, and bananas
are among the winter fruits. For most of the spring and summer, fruit is
eaten fresh. Later, it may be used fresh or dried, in compotes, or made
into jams and preserves. Among the preserves, the unique ones to taste
are the quince marmalade, the sour cherry preserve, and the rose preserve
(made of rose petals, which is not a fruit!). The most wonderful contribution
of Turkish cuisine to the family of desserts that can easily be missed
by casual explorers, are the milk desserts - the "muhallebi" family. These
are among the rare types of guilt-free puddings made with starch and rice
flour, and, originally without any eggs or butter. When the occasion calls
for even a lighter dessert, the milk can also be omitted instead, the pudding
may be flavored with citrus fruits, such as leii-ions or oranges. The milk
desserts include a variety of puddings, ranging from the very light and
subtle rose-waler variety to the milk pudding laced with strands of chicken
breast. 
Grain-based
desserts include baked pastries, fried yeast-dough pastries and the pan-sauteed
desserts. The baked pastries can also be referred to as the baklava family. 
These
are paper-thin pastry sheets that are brushed with butter and folded, layered,
or rolled after being filled with round pistachios, walnuts or heavy cream,
and then baked, after which a syrup is poured over them. The various types,
such as the sultan, the nightingale's nest, or the twisted turban differ
according to the amount and placement of nuts, size and shape of the individual
pieces, and the dryness of the final product. The "lokma" family is made
by, frying soft pieces of yeast dough in oil and dipping them in a syrup.
Lady's lips, lady's navel, and vizier finger are fine examples. "Helva"
is made by pan-sautéing, flour or semolina and pine nuts in butter
before adding sugar and milk or water, then briefly, cooking until these
are absorbed. The preparation of helva is conducive to communal cooking.
People are invited for "helva conversations to pass the long winter nights.
The more familiar tahini helva is sold in blocks at carrier grocery shops.
Another dessert that should be mentioned is a piece of special bread cooked
in syrup, topped with lots of walnuts and dense cream. This is possibly
the queen of all desserts, so plan to taste it at the Ikbal Restaurant
on the Ankara - Izmir highway at Afyon. (Those who will join our Thermal
Spa tour! Get ready to acquaintance with the queen)
There
are shops where baklava, börek, muhallebi are sold, exclusively or
together with other things. People come to these places for take-away,
or to sit down at one of the tables tucked away, in a corner of the shop.
The baklava shops also usually feature "water börek", an especially
difficult börek to make. Most börek shops also make milk puddings.
These are excellent places to eat breakfast or lunch at any time of the
day, since the regular restaurants may stop serving at two o'clock in the
afternoon. Many pudding shops also serve chicken soup. In any event, it
is possible to feast on börek and milk pudding for an entire holiday,
if on a tight budget. Perhaps the most well-known shop of this type is
Saray, on Istiklal street in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, in addition
to the entire village of Sariyer on the Bosphorus. You have to be in Turkey
to get the real and the best taste of the above desserts. However, in addition
to the variety of Turkish Delights, there is a lesser-known type of dessert
that can be taken back home in a sweet box. These are nut pastes - marzipan
made of almonds and pistachios. The best marzipan is sold at a tiny, unassuming
shop in Bebek in Istanbul. A few boxes usually will last for a month or
so and bring delight after dinner. Finally, candied chestnuts, a speciality,
of Bursa, are among the most wonderful nutty desserts.
