What is the oriental sweets? This title combines quite a variety of confectionery products, has long been popular in the Middle East. These goodies, including halva, Turkish delight, nougat, roasted nuts, baklava and kozinaki, popular around the world. They are prepared by different techniques, but always have a pronounced sweet taste.

Varieties

Eastern exoticism at all times attracted the Europeans. "Tales of a Thousand and One Nights", palaces and fabulously wealthy sultans, harems and concubines with ambiguous wise parable, exquisite carpets and original dishes - all these signs of life eastern consistently intriguing and arouse interest. And the easiest way to touch the mysteries of Eastern countries - try the sweets, invented in those places.

The term "Oriental sweets" is most often used to refer to the confectionery Turkish or Iranian origin. It has long been in those countries preparing for a unique dessert dishes, which in addition to conventional ingredients (ie sugar, molasses, honey) also contained a large number of nuts, spices, starch. Because of the climate of Eastern bakers invented these kinds of sweets, which are not afraid of the heat. A variety of flavors helped the original technology, sometimes very, very complicated. However, the taste of a variety of confectionery products of oriental origin is generally similar: they all frankly sweet, and taste some people even cloying.

It can be divided such confections into several varieties:

• Halva;
• Nougat;
• Turkish Delight;
• Kozinaki and roasted nuts Grilyazh: French sweetness of Oriental origin ;
• Pastry with sweet filling (various kinds of cookies with nuts and raisins);
• Biscuits and sugar dough (eg, shaker-byurek, kyata, kurabe and others);
• Dough products in a sweet filling (this includes, for example, the famous baklava);
• Boiled juice, jam, candied fruit (this also applies, for example, churchhella);
• Caramel and sugar products (nogul, nishallo and other species).

The Many Faces of halva

Halva is perhaps the most famous and popular oriental sweets. In honor of this delicacy was even named an asteroid discovered by US amateur halva. It is believed that the sweetness of doing from nuts, but for the production of this dessert are also used oil seeds and even flour or semolina. Somewhere even halva prepared from vegetables, legumes or milk.

Different types of raw materials are ground and mixed with sugar syrup or honey, adding beaten egg white or other foaming component to impart halvah laminate structure. The result is a dense mass of very sweet, which is cut into portions and eat chilled.

Low-calorie treat is difficult to call. Halva flour, semolina, or corn grits, common in Turkey and Balkan countries, very sweet and nutty, tahini (sesame) or sunflower halva contains a considerable amount of fat. However, some varieties of halva contain valuable fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber, and in moderation is not only injurious to health, but also even be useful.

Mysterious nougat

Nougat is made from sugar or honey mixed with roasted nuts. Dark or brown nougat made from caramelized sugar, mixed with grated nuts (almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts). Sometimes weight is added as cocoa aroma that emphasizes a rich nutty flavor.

White nougat is prepared with the addition of egg whites, which give a soft delicacy, plastic consistency. This delicacy can be prepared even without the nuts, at least as a basis. There recipes without egg whites, that is, in essence, simply whipped sugar syrup, honey and glucose. The variety of flavors is achieved by adding to the nougat variety of spices and flavors. Interestingly, white nougat Eastern origin, some researchers are questioning: the sweetness of the most widely received not in the East, and in France and Italy.

The famous Turkish Delight

Colorful pieces of Turkish delight cause the desire to taste them, even those who are indifferent to sweets. Translated from the Turkish name of the sweets and means "pieces of fun." This delicacy is common not only in the East, but also in some European countries, especially in the Balkan Peninsula. For example, in Bulgaria, Turkish Delight (lokum, or as they call it) is used not only as a dessert, but as the original filling for cakes and sweet rolls.

Turkish delight is made from sugar with the addition of starch. Traditional sweets flavored with rose water, and then to the sugar-starch mixture began to add nuts. Today there are many varieties of this delicacy: Fruit Delight, nutty, honey. There are views in form: for example, there is delight in the form of cubes, layered delight, delight, rolled into a roll and cut into pieces. All these varieties look very decorative. Arabic Delight is somewhat different from Turkish and is prepared in the form of one large piece in the form of a cube or box.

Kozinaki and roasted nuts

Kozinaki and roasted nuts have a lot in common: both of these sweets are Eastern origin and are made with nuts, honey or filled with hot sugar syrup. Kozinaki of chopped walnuts and honey are considered to be traditional Georgian sweetness. The name "roasted nuts" - the French, but in France the idea of ​​pouring sugar caramel Caramel: sweet treat   nuts, too, came from the East.

Sometimes kozinaki Kozinaki: peanut treat   do not nuts, but peeled from the husk. Most often used the traditional East sesame seeds, a little less - sunflower.

Maria Bykov

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