Oriental sweets have long won the favor of gourmets in the world. Unusual flavor combinations, interesting additives and the use of natural ingredients make the products recognizable and highly demanded. Eastern sweets can be used as an independent dish or as a dessert. It all depends on which product you choose.
Features of oriental sweets
It is quite problematic to describe each oriental sweetness, because there are almost 200 types of them. The homeland of delicious dishes are the countries of Central Asia: Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, etc. Today, oriental sweets are also produced according to special recipes in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and other countries.
A distinctive nuance of oriental sweets is the addition of spices and herbs. The special traditional combinations are very recognizable and give the confectionery a unique taste. It is thanks to the recipe that oriental sweets have gained wide distribution and many fans all over the world.
Traditionally, oriental sweets are made by specially trained confectioners called "kandalatchi". For proper preparation, special equipment is used. The recipe is often kept secret, because each country has its own characteristics and nuances of creating delicacies. Conventionally, oriental sweets can be divided into three types: flour, soft, caramel.
Flour sweets from the East
Oriental floury sweets are made using dough. The most famous in this category are baklava and chak-chak. The first course is made from thinly rolled puff pastry. When baking, honey, chopped nuts, sweet syrup are added. Baklava (second name - baklava) is a traditional dessert in Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Iranian and other cuisines of the East.
Chak-chak has a denser consistency. Small pieces of dough are fried in a large amount of oil. Then the product is "assembled" and filled with syrup or honey. In some cuisines, dried fruits or nuts are added to chak-chak.
Shaker-churek is a traditional Azerbaijani oriental sweet. Small crumbly cookies are distinguished by a very delicate taste and light aroma of ghee. In Israeli cuisine, baked goods called "zemela" are popular. Diamond-shaped cookies are made from shortcrust pastry and decorated with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon on top. Also, oriental flour-type sweets include: shakris, lazzat, kurabye, sakyrosi, etc.
Oriental "soft candy"
These oriental sweets are prepared from three types of masses: protein, fruit-jelly or fondant. It is to this type of confectionery that the famous delight, nougat, kos-halva, etc. belong. Nuts, candied fruits, dried fruits, cocoa are used as additives. Powdered sugar is most often chosen for sprinkling.
Lokum resembles a dense jelly mass cut into pieces. Typically, a fruit base is used for cooking, but sometimes unusual ingredients are added to it. For example, mint or rose petal syrup. Powdered sugar, sesame seeds, coconut flakes act as sprinkles.
Less known, but very useful is the eastern sweetness of the Jezerie. It is based on fruit juice, nuts and fresh fruits are used from additives. Traditionally, Jezeriye is made from pomegranate nectar. The sweetness is free of fats and cholesterol, and the retained minerals and vitamins have a beneficial effect on the body.
Oriental candies
Even caramel products in oriental cuisine are distinguished by their taste, health and natural base. For example, kozinaki, nuts in sugar, crocant, etc. are in great demand. These sweets are obtained from thick sugar syrup, to which various seeds and grains are added. The most popular are sunflower and sesame kozinaki.
The sweetness of croccante is very similar to kozinaki. However, whole nuts are used instead of seeds. Croccante can consist of almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, etc. This sweet is often called "cake". Sometimes additional ingredients can be added to the syrup: lime / lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, etc.
