Lokum: Pure Delight

In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Edmund is tempted to the dark side with the aid of a bowl of Turkish Delight — just the plain ole rose-flavoured, sugar-coated variant.

In Bulgaria, part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire for over five centuries, they have taken the art of plain old lokum, invented in Istanbul in 1776, to whole new candy-coloured heights.

The basic principle hasn’t changed for two centuries, but the additions sure have. Bulgarians use sesame, walnuts, almonds, coconut icing and flavourings from lemon to liquorice. You can even buy long bars to chop up at will!