Soft, dusted in icing sugar and unmistakably floral, Turkish delight tends to split people into two camps — those who think of an Ottoman sultan's court, and those who think of a certain enchanted wardrobe. The real history is Ottoman, and considerably older than either.
Invented in Istanbul, 1777
Turkish delight — known in Turkish as lokum — is generally credited to Bekir Efendi, a confectioner who arrived in Istanbul from Anatolia in 1777 and opened a sweet shop that still trades today as Hacı Bekir. His breakthrough was technical: earlier soft sweets were thickened with flour, which made them cloud and harden over time. Bekir switched to starch, which kept the paste clear, soft and stable for far longer. That single change is essentially what makes lokum lokum, and it's still how it's made today.
From Palace Confectioner to "Turkish Delight"
Bekir's sweets were good enough to earn him an appointment as confectioner to the Ottoman Palace, and the treat spread through Ottoman society from there. The English name comes from a much later, much less official source: the popular (if hard to verify in every detail) story is that a 19th-century English visitor to Istanbul liked the sweet enough to take some home, introducing it to friends as "Turkish Delight" — a translation that stuck in English long after the original Turkish name.
Rose, Lemon and the Other Classic Flavours
Modern lokum comes in dozens of flavours, but a handful are considered the traditional core:
- Rose — the most iconic version, flavoured with rosewater and usually tinted a pale pink.
- Lemon — a sharper, citrus alternative to rose, often paler or untinted.
- Orange blossom — another floral option from the same family as rose, common in the original Ottoman recipes.
- Mastic (gum mastic) — a resin-based flavour with a faint pine note, less common outside Turkey but part of the earliest recipes.
- Nut-studded versions — pistachio, walnut or hazelnut pieces set into the paste, a step up from the plain cube.
How Britain Got a Chocolate-Covered Version
The Turkish delight most familiar to British shoppers today is arguably Fry's Turkish Delight — a rose-flavoured lokum centre coated in milk chocolate, launched in 1914 by the Bristol chocolate maker J.S. Fry & Sons. Fry's merged into Cadbury in 1919, but the Fry's name and bar survived the merger and is still sold today. It's a genuinely different product from the plain, icing-sugar-dusted cubes described above — we've covered Fry's Turkish Delight and Chocolate Cream in more detail here.
Where to Find It Today
Beyond the classic cube, Turkish delight flavouring now turns up in less traditional formats too — including the Dobsons Turkish Delight Mega Lollies Jar, a modern, rose-flavoured spin on the classic sold by the jar rather than the box. Browse more traditional jar sweets in our Sweet Jars collection.
Frequently asked questions
Who invented Turkish delight?
Bekir Efendi, a confectioner working in Istanbul, is generally credited with creating it in 1777, after switching from flour to starch to set the paste, which kept it soft and clear for much longer than earlier sweets.
What are the classic Turkish delight flavours?
Rose is the most iconic, followed by lemon, orange blossom and mastic (a pine-like resin flavour), with pistachio, walnut or hazelnut versions also considered traditional.
Why is it called "Turkish Delight" in English?
Its Turkish name is lokum. "Turkish Delight" is an English name that stuck after a 19th-century English visitor to Istanbul brought the sweet home and introduced it under that description.
Is Fry's Turkish Delight the same as traditional Turkish delight?
Not quite — it's a rose-flavoured lokum centre coated in milk chocolate, launched by J.S. Fry & Sons in 1914, whereas traditional Turkish delight is usually sold as plain, icing-sugar-dusted cubes without a chocolate coating.