Turkish delight and helva are the two sweets most people bring home from Istanbul and then cannot find again. Both are widely imitated and both are easy to judge once you know what to look at. Here is what we stock in Prague and how to choose.
Lokum — Turkish delight
Real lokum is starch and sugar, cooked slowly and set — not gelatine. It should be soft but with a slight resistance, translucent rather than cloudy, and dusted lightly with icing sugar or starch. If it is rubbery, springs back like a gummy sweet, or tastes mainly of perfume, it is not the real thing.
We carry Koska, one of the oldest and most respected Turkish confectioners:
| Product | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| KOSKA Lokum — hazelnut | 250 g | 180 Kč |
| KOSKA Lokum — pistachio | 250 g | 204 Kč |
| KOSKA Lokum — rose | 250 g | 144 Kč |
| KOSKA Lokum — mixed | 250 g | 156 Kč |
| SUNTAT — green apple lokum | 400 g | 156 Kč |
Rose is the traditional one and the best introduction. Pistachio is the one to buy if you are giving it as a gift. The mixed box is the safe choice when you do not know the recipient’s taste.
Helva — sesame halva
Turkish helva is made from tahini, sesame paste, worked with sugar into a dense, crumbly, flaky block. It should break rather than bend, and it should taste of sesame first and sugar second. Good helva has visible layering when you cut it.
| Product | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| KOSKA Helva — plain | 350 g | 168 Kč |
| KOSKA Helva — cocoa | 350 g | 180 Kč |
| KOSKA Helva — pistachio | 350 g | 288 Kč |
Helva is eaten in thin slices with bread for breakfast as often as it is eaten as a dessert. It keeps for months in a cool cupboard and does not need refrigerating.
The rest of the sweet shelf
Alongside the lokum and helva we stock the ingredients and the extras that go with them:
- KOSKA sesame paste (tahini), 620 g — 324 Kč. For helva, hummus, and tahini-and-molasses on bread.
- KOSKA mulberry molasses (pekmez), 380 g — 168 Kč, or 800 g — 324 Kč. Mixed with tahini it is the classic Turkish breakfast spread.
- SARAY pişmaniye, 150 g — 132 Kč. The spun, cotton-like sweet that dissolves on contact.
- Honey — Balye honey with comb, 475 g, 180 Kč; Family Farm forest and blossom honey, 950 g, 360 Kč.
- Filo for baklava — Öz Yıl baklava pastry 470 g, 144 Kč; Suntat kadayıf 400 g, 180 Kč.
What to serve with what
Lokum goes with Turkish coffee — one piece, eaten before the coffee, not after. Helva goes with tea. Pişmaniye goes with either, and disappears faster than you expect.
If you are putting together a gift, a box of pistachio lokum, a block of plain helva and a bag of Turkish coffee covers it.
Where to find us
Anatolia Meat Market, Na Poříčí 1933/36, Prague 1 — open every day 09:00–21:00. Call +420 727 974 844 or browse the online menu.
Prices listed are those on our online menu and may change; the current price is always shown there and in store.
