Mr Grocery Gems brought home a selection of Turkish delights and baklava after a recent visit to Istanbul. I wasn't going to review them but everything was just so amazing that I had to give them a shout out here. All the Turkish treats were bought in a lovely shore called Hafiz Mustafa in Istanbul which has been making sweet delights since 1864.
The first box was filled with an assortment of jewel coloured sweets, filled with a variety of nuts such as pistachios and hazelnuts. I've never tasted anything quite like these before, they were seriously DIVINE.
Each one was packed full of nuts and surrounded by a flavoured jelly in varieties such as rose, mint, kiwi, pomegranate and hazelnut. My favourites by far were actually the hazelnut ones - I loved the texture of the crunchy hazelnuts against the soft jelly.
We also tried the traditional solid flavoured cubes of Turkish delight. The flavours here, of rose, apple and lemon, were all quite delicate and very sweet. They had a lovely firm, yet soft texture, that was was just wonderful.
Lastly, he also brought back a box of Turkish Baklava. I have to admit I've never tried baklava before. The dried-up pastries I've seen for sale in supermarkets here have never really appealed to me. Happily, I was pleasantly surprised by just how delicious these syrupy little pastries can be. Each one was filled with nuts and had a unique texture that was both flaky and juicy at the same time. Another winner!
