This sweetness is better known in our country as Turkish delight, which, in principle, is not entirely correct. Turkish delight in the homeland of these sweets – in Syria and Turkey – is called only one of the types of delight, in the preparation of which flour is used. There is also lokum without flour, which is commonly called shaker-lokum.

We have Turkish delight – Turkish delight is very popular. Most often, on the shelves of shops or in the markets, it is sold in the form of chopped pieces, abundantly sprinkled with powdered sugar. By the way, it is for this look that this sweetness got its name: Turkish delight in translation from Turkish means “a convenient piece”. And it is Turkish delight that is a delicious souvenir, which is most often brought by tourists from sunny Turkish resorts. There it can be of any color, any taste and with a variety of fillers in the composition: oriental chefs know a lot about frills.

But with all the popularity, Turkish delight is a confectionery product. And some might even suspect that, like any sweet, Turkish delight can be unhealthy for all its virtues. So let’s dot the “i”.

Composition of delight
The main components of the composition that are present in all varieties of Turkish Delight without exception are starch, water and sugar. Slightly boiled in water, and then hardened starch provides a pleasant soft consistency of the product. The sugar gives it a sweet, desserty taste. These are the only ingredients in the composition of the so-called white delight. Any other species that differs in taste or color contains natural or synthetic dyes or food additives.

Of course, various fruit juices have long been used to make Turkish delight. It was in them that starch and sugar were added, getting soft sweets with a natural taste. No less often sweets were filled with nuts or peanuts. In some cases, sugar in the composition was replaced with honey, in others, flour was added to the composition. Very refined, in addition, was considered Turkish delight with the addition of rose petals.

All these components that make up Turkish delight, mixed, cooked and specially aged for a certain time, determine the qualities and properties of this delicacy.

What is useful
Turkish delight is a sweet battery for the body. The simple sugar or honey contained in the treat is a rich source of energy for the muscles and brain. Starch is the same simple sugars arranged in long chains. In the body, it is also broken down with the release of large amounts of energy.

But even greater benefits of Turkish delight in fruit or nut varieties. But only in those cases when really natural juice is used for preparation, and not dyes and flavors diluted with water. And nuts, and juices, and rose petals – they all contain certain vitamins and minerals that will be very useful to the body. One has only to take into account that even in natural juices, after preparation and concomitant heat treatment, some of the vitamins are destroyed. Nuts, in this respect, are more stable, therefore, Turkish delight with nuts can be considered the most useful.

And one more very important point: like any sweetness, Turkish delight lifts the mood. And for this there are not only psychological (candy is always a little surprise!), But also purely physiological prerequisites. The sugars in Turkish delight cause the release of serotonin into the bloodstream, which, by acting on the nerve endings in the brain, leads to an increase in brain activity and improves mood. So, one side of the coin is visible to us well. Let’s look at another one now.

Harm
With all its virtues, Turkish delight is sweet. The same sugars that make its taste pleasant and unforgettable can turn into big trouble in the case of unbridled passion in the use of even such a soft and unsweetened candy. First of all, Turkish delight should not be consumed by those who suffer from diabetes. An increase in blood sugar levels will occur immediately. At the same time, even a certain amount of starch, which is capable of slightly lowering this level after hyperglycemia, may not help.

If you overeat this oriental sweetness, it can affect the condition of your teeth. And although this is not such a “hard” sweetness as, say, lollipops or gozinaki, the remains of powdered sugar in the mouth will do their job.

Even containing many easily digestible carbohydrates, Turkish delight alone will not be able to cause such severe metabolic disorders that can lead to obesity or diabetes. But together with other sweets – cakes, buns and chocolate – it will fully support this trend. Well, one cannot help but recall the today’s habits of Turkish delight producers to prepare it using different dyes and food additives. This sin is not only our, domestic producers. Sometimes even Turkey itself – the birthplace of Turkish delight – cannot boast of the absence of E-components in oriental sweets. And they, as you know, do not carry benefits to the body.

Therefore, it is difficult to make an unambiguous conclusion about the usefulness of “pieces of pleasure”. The sweetness of Turkish Delight is a gastronomic pleasure. It cannot be eaten, like bread, in kilograms – then all its virtues will be lost and only harm will remain. But if you eat a little natural fruit or nut variety from time to time, savoring it and enjoying every bite, then it will definitely have a beneficial effect on both the emotional state and the health of the body as a whole.