Fruit Delights ~ Turkish Delight

When it comes to food items, I usually enjoy trying new things and am not a picky eater. Most of my life, however, I have lived in small towns or locations that have a "small town feel" to them. As such, I've heard of more things that I've had the opportunity to sample.

One of those items is commonly known as "Turkish Delight" in English, and by "lokum" in the Arabic-speaking world. It is a sweet food, described by Wikipedia as being made by mixing starch and sugar into a translucent gel. The gel is flavored with various ingredients, from rosewater to fruits, spices, and mints. Sometimes bits of fruit or nuts are included. The finished product is often dusted with powdered sugar or dried coconut meat so they don't stick to each other. After reading about this delicacy online perhaps fifteen years ago, I thought it would be fun to try them sometime, but imagined I'd have to visit a large city or another country before I had the chance.

I was quite surprised during a recent visit to one of my local Dollar General^® stores. While perusing the aisle of "holiday only" items, I spied a box marked "Fruit Delights" and immediately recognized it as a variation of Turkish Delight! Ordinarily, I would only have bought one box to sample, and then return to the store for more if I liked them. However, there were only three boxes on the shelf, I knew I would enjoy them since I am not a picky eater, so I took two of the three boxes. And, I do like them! 😋

Each box has two pieces of five different varieties:

• Strawberry Walnut
• Blueberry Conserve
• Pineapple Macadamia
• Raspberry Pecan
• Peach Walnut

Each one of the flavors is delightful in its own way, making it difficult — if not impossible — to select a single favorite.

The only thing I have eaten previously with any similarity are probably the old-fashioned "gumdrops" and "spice drops" candies. However, the Turkish Delights are much lighter, not as sweet, and the gel is not nearly as sticky and dense. These are made from real fruit juices, which are naturally sweet, so additional sugar was added sparingly. This was a quite refreshing change from the the way "Western" manufacturing companies operate, where sugars are added to everything in absurd quantity — even to savory items such as canned soups — in an effort to "addict" people to wanting that particular brand. 😠 These had just the right amount of sugar to be tasty, without feeling a 'sugar overdose' coming on! ✌️

This box of Fruit Delights that I bought was produced by the company Liberty Orchards^®. While refreshing my memory about Turkish Delight for this blog post, I was quite amused to find that Liberty Orchards^® is mentioned in the Wikipedia article for Turkish Delight! The company is said to have been formed by two immigrants from Armenia, so I feel this to be a more "authentic" item than if some big-name company had willy-nilly decided to try to mass-produce them.

No one knows exactly when or where Turkish Delight originated. One company, founded by Hacı Bekir and in business in Istanbul since 1777, is claimed by some to be the originator of this confection. However, "similar Arab and Persian recipes, including the use of starch and sugar, predate Bekir by several centuries."  ^[1]

^{~ photograph by me, from the back of the package ~}

I like how the founders began their business from surplus crops on their farm. I like how the product was a re-creation of something they remember from their childhoods. I like how it is slow-cooked in small batches. The box also touts their product as:

● Gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan
● No artificial flavors or colors
● No cholesterol and low in sodium