History: A contested invention

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 rahat al hulqum which means “Throat Comfort”.

According to the Hacı Bekir company, the sweets as they are known today were developed by Bekir Efendi, named Hacı Bekir, after performing the Hajj. He moved to Istanbul from his hometown Kastamonu and opened his confectionery shop in the district of Bahçekapı in 1777. The company still operates under the founder’s name.

Tim Richardson, a historian of sweets, has questioned the claim of Hacı Bekir to be the creator of Turkish Delight, writing that “specific names and dates are often erroneously associated with the invention of particular sweets, not least for commercial reasons”.

Ottoman confectionery was originally sweetened with honey and molasses, using water and flour as the binding agents, with rosewater, lemon peel and bitter orange as the most common flavors (red, yellow and green). Hacı Bekir introduced the use of glucose in 1811, shortly after it had been discovered by Gottlieb Kirchhoff.