Uh, dude, this was written in the context of rationing and austerity. A kid whose had his sugar rationed is going to consider Turkish delight in a totally different way than a kid in 2017
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C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
41–50 of 129 posts
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#42I am not a fan of packaged Turkish delight. It seems to always be terrible.
When I was a child, my family would occasionally buy made-in-house Turkish delight from a small, family Turkish food store, which has long since closed, near where I lived, and it was different and better. It had a softer, gooey-er texture and more delicate, less sweet flavour. Rose is the most memorable flavour for me. I believe our original inspiration for buying it was, in fact, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
My mother and I tried making some myself a few years ago to reproduce that memory, but the result was fairly sub-par, although still better than the packaged versions.
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#43When my kids were younger, I took to reading the the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to my kids at the dinner table. Just for fun, on some of those evenings we'd have Turkish Delight at the table. The whole experience was really nice overall. But I have to say, many of the Turkish Delight flavor variations weren't very appealing: rosewater, mint, etc. We tended to like the fruitier ones such as lemon and orange. (A…
That's a brilliant idea! When my children are of an age I will surely try this out myself.
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#44I liked the Robot Chicken sketch on this where the nerd thinks Turkish Delight is some kind of sex act. Caution: NSFW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrplL8orvac
Interestingly enough, the song "Afternoon Delight" by Starlight Vocal Band was named after a dessert, despite the song itself being 3 minutes of sexual innuendo.
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#45When I was a kid, there was a small flavored-popcorn-and-candy shop called Karmelkorn in our town. They made fresh Turkish Delight (along with popcorn, marzipan, and other candies) in the store, and it was always my favorite treat. They had the traditional rosewater along with some citrus flavors, and it was dusted in cornstarch, not sugar. It was just sweet enough, with a firm, but pleasingly squishy bite.
I've tried the Cadbury chocolate-covered version, and a few packaged versions as an adult, and none of them are as good as we used to get from the Karmelkorn shop.
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#46Proper Turkish delight is never coated with icing sugar, but always starch. I don't know where the author had it either, but it is nowhere near being "very, very sweet." Hell, I can't even imagine what an American may consider as being too sweet! Source: Born and raised in Turkey.
The stuff you get in the UK is disgusting, it's a sugary jelly with a very strong artificial rose flavour. Sticky sweet goo. I've had the proper stuff in Turkey and it's not sweet, it's not sticky or gooey. The flavour, at least of the stuff I had, was subtle.
Oddly, the only "proper" Turkish delight I've had, as a Canadian, I found in a British-sweets import shop.
Not sure if it was British-made, mind you...
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#47Proper Turkish delight is never coated with icing sugar, but always starch. I don't know where the author had it either, but it is nowhere near being "very, very sweet." Hell, I can't even imagine what an American may consider as being too sweet! Source: Born and raised in Turkey.
A Starburst candy is a 10 on the sweetness scale for me.
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#48In the U.S., the TJ Maxx and Marshall's liquidation department stores often carry it in the winter.
The most poignant comment from anyone to whom I have introduced it was "a flower shop just exploded in my mouth."
I am partial to the rose flavor, but I am reaching the age where I must watch my sugar intake, so it is a rare indulgence.
I'm surprised that (german grocer) Aldi doesn't carry it. They always have Turkish dried apricots, and a number of odd confections in the winter.
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#49Back when I read the Narnia books at the age of 11 and 12, I remember reading of lands and people other than Narnia as being portrayed negatively. Back then I did not know, who the lands were being referred to, but the more I started reading into other cultures, the more I found a strong resonance with the cultures of Iran and Turkey. Turkish delight was served by the evil witch and it turned Edmund unto a spell. In…
You're currently being downvoted and I'm not sure why. However, I don't think you're quite right about Lewis' motives so that may be part of it. Yes, he had a hidden agenda: the books are somewhat allegorical and intended to turn the child towards Christianity, not against a particular culture. I'd assume that the negative portrayal arose out of the conventional thinking of his time far more than anything more sinist…
He's being downvoted for the following unsubstantiated statement:
> The Narnia books were C.S. Lewis's attempt at turning thinking, particularly child thinking, against the cultures found in the Middle East.
What's more likely: that there's a cabal of staunchly xenophobic English fantasy authors or that foreign, unfamiliar cultures are great inspiration for fantasy stories?
Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)
#50I think it has a lot to do with context - I imagine candy with unusual flavors were probably not an everyday purchase 100 years ago, let alone something soft. That, plus the exotica of "Turkish" delight (since there was a lot of curiosity re: the Middle East back then) seems like it might have been why Lewis chose that. Roald Dahl has a great bit on going to buy candy as a kid in "Boy" (http://dhunter.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/5/8/2958381/roald_dahl...) - which makes it sound much more of a magical experience than the jaded way I get m&ms at the corner store today.
An aside: not to be a snob, but the commonly found (especially in the UK) Fry's Turkish delight is kind of a bastardization, and I think the vacuum sealed airport kind is OK but doesn't really do it justice. If you happen to go to Istanbul at some point, drop by Haci Bekir, Divan, Cafer Erol, or one of the other myriad candy shops that have been at it for decades, sometimes centuries. "The Best" is very subjective, but I think all these will have good, fresh specimens. Or go to Pera Palace's cafe and have a Turkish coffee, which always comes with lokum on the side.