We love Turkish delights, but what other delights does Turkey have to offer?

Good afternoon Twisties,

I hope today’s post finds you well on this cold and foggy afternoon. Today’s snack tasting comes to us all the way from Turkey! Turkey has always been a little bit of an enigma to me because it is sort of a country you hear about (for good and not-so-good reasons), but as someone less travelled, it’s not somewhere that I really know an awful lot about.

Growing up, I do remember my father used to make Turkish delight and baklava, both treats that my mother adored. My Mum and I are weak for baklava and found a market stall selling homemade baklava in Truro, Cornwall. It rained the whole time we were in Cornwall, but one of the highlights of the trip was this beautiful and authentic baklava which we shared with some coffee back in the warmth of our caravan.

Turkish friends, I do sincerely apologise that my header image is not to the normal standard that I do for these snack tasting posts. I had a bit of a moment of horror yesterday when I realised that I forgot to take the image that I normally super-impose onto the flag maps, so I had to opt for the image of the two flags instead. Readers, please do let me know in the comments which style you prefer as I’m happy to go with either format.

Alright, let’s get started!

Likir Sour Cherry Drink

Likir sour cherry is a flat sour cherry juice drink in the typical cardboard juice carton with a straw. It was really reminiscent for me because I haven’t really seen or had a juice box in years (apart from seeing them on shelves in supermarkets). Cherry drinks also aren’t something we really see as a particularly common drink flavour here in the UK.

Winner or Binner? I was really worried that this was going to be bitterly sour, but actually, it wasn’t at all. It’s sour enough not to be sickly sweet, but not so sour that it makes you pull funny faces. It’s definitely small enough to be easy to carry and light enough to really quench your thirst, too. A Winner. A bit of criticism for that pesky plastic straw, though!

Crax – Chilli Lime

These crunchy breadsticks have a knobbly crumb coating and a spicy-sour flavour of chilli-lime. Opening the pack, there are lots inside and the smell of chilli and lime is there. They actually smell quite spicy!

Winner or Binner? We were really worried that these would be too spicy, but they aren’t at all. The spice is there, but it’s not overbearing and the flavour leaves you wanting more. I’m sad now these are all gone. A Winner.

Patos Rolls

Patos Rolls are hot chilli flavour corn tortilla rolls. They’re similar to Doritos but rolled tightly into crunchy, flavour-packed rolls.

Winner or Binner? The first disappointment was how few chips there were in the bag! You expect a bag this size to be brimming with delicious crunchiness, and yet the bag was barely even a quarter full! Secondly, they did just taste like a slightly spicy cheese flavour and not the “hot chilli” we were expecting. A major disappointment. Sorry Turkey, these are a Binner for sure.

8Kek Muzlu

This chocolate flavour sponge cake is filled with banana cream and topped with chocolate. It’s small and portable, making it ideal for lunchboxes or a smack on the go.

Winner or Binner? Much like the Russian Biskvit, this was much too sweet for us. The banana doesn’t taste natural, it tastes artificial and we didn’t really care for it. The chocolate was also very sweet and waxy too, A Binner.

Eti Tutku

The first thing that strikes you about these biscuits is the pattern. The second thing that strikes you is the hazelnut filling. Apparently served with coffee, it’s not hard to see why these would be popular with all ages.

Winner or Binner? As they are, these biscuits have a dry, gritty, slightly sweet base with a smooth chocolate hazelnut filling. However, once you dip them in coffee, they really do become something else. The grittiness is no longer there and they coffee tastes creamy with a contrast of rich chocolate filling. These are a Winner, but with coffee!

Eti Bidolu

Eti Bidolu consists of two cocoa flavoured wafers sandwiched together with a chocolate and hazelnut cream. Again, these are also perfectly pocket-sized, making them great for on the go.

Winner or Binner? This biscuit is very crumbly, so it’s probably best not something to have ahead of an important meeting! The chocolate cream filling was quite firm, but not hard and quite rich and creamy. The chopped hazelnuts give it a nice texture too, a Winner.

Eti Cin

Okay, so I’m going to be really biased here and say that this treat is already a Winner for me. Look at that little face, he’s so happy! This biscuit is topped with orange jelly, covered in chocolate flavoured sprinkles.

Winner or Binner? I was right! This little treat is absolutely delicious. The orange jelly is really delicious and the chocolate and the biscuit base is really crisp and tasty. The chocolate sprinkles are different but definitely aren’t too sweet. A Winner.

Albeni

Albeni is really the Turkish answer to Twix, available here in the UK. It has a crunchy biscuit base, a think layer of smooth caramel and a chocolate coating. It’s slightly flatter than it’s British counterpart, but it makes up for that by also being wider.

Winner or Binner? Albeni is different from Twix, but not in any way that’s unpleasantly so. The biscuit is coarser, but the caramel is richer and we think the chocolate is thicker, too. A Winner.

Eti Puf

There’s no denying that the Eti Puf is vibrant. This cute little treat features a biscuit base topped with marshmallow and yep, more sprinkles!

Winner or Binner? I was really worried that the Eti Puf would be too sickly sweet for me, but actually, it’s not, at all. It’s nice and light and foamy and the sprinkles add just enough sweetness. A Winner.

Alpella

Behold, the humble wafer bar! Quite often, we see some form of wafer bar covered in milk chocolate, but this bar is covered in white chocolate. It still has a similar creamy filling, but perhaps most noticeable is the bar’s interesting shape.

Winner or Binner? Again, this bar looks sweeter than what it is. You expect the white chocolate to give to even more sweetness underneath, but actually, it doesn’t. It’s sweet and creamy, but no more so than it’s milk chocolate counterpart. Nice! A Winner.

Esra Turkish Delight

Normally in the UK, it’s only ever possible to find boxes of Turkish delight containing rose and lemon, so when I saw that this box contained mint flavoured pieces too, I was really curious. I’ve never tried mint Turkish delight before, but I was really keen to give it a go.

Winner or Binner? Oh my goodness, those flavours! The rose was like I was eating a rose, and the mint tasted like I was getting ready for an interview – it was an incredible spearmint taste! The biggest setback of these is that I can’t find them anywhere to buy more. A Winner for sure!

Tofita

When I first saw these, I thought that they were chocolate chews or a little bit like Toffifee, the German toffee, hazelnut & chocolate treat that I love. They’re not though, and these individually wrapped cherry chews certainly made an impression.

Winner or Binner? I really liked these chews. They’re creamy, juicy, chewy. My dentist might not approve, but he doesn’t need to know! Say it quietly, Winner.

Jellibon Sour Patch Karpuz

Looking at the packaging of these sweets, it’s not hard to see that they are made by Mondalẽz International Inc, the same company that brings us Sour Patch Kids. These cute little jellies are supposed to look like watermelon slices, coated with the same sour-sweet sugar.

Winner or Binner? Okay, so I’m not generally a fan of sour sweets, but these were fine. They’re sour, but not overbearingly so and with a nice watermelon flavour. They don’t look an awful lot like watermelons though, unlike the lollipops we tried from Colombia. Still, a Winner.

Ekṣi Yüz

These sour bubble gums reached us in strawberry, cola and tutti frutti flavours. They claim to be extremely sour, so I’ve been warned!

Winner or Binner? Okay, so these are sour, and considerably so more than the jellies. They’re fairly juicy, but I could also feel my mouth screaming at me for this infliction. Beyond that, the gum isn’t too bad. It’s sweet with a good edacity, but oh, what’s that? It’s also minty? Dear Lord, no! Abort! It’s a Binner.

What surprised us most was...

the simultaneous presence and absence of the cherry flavour. It seems like it’s kind of a big thing in Turkey, and yet, it wasn’t actually present in the Turkish delight, I found that really interesting. Also, the use of sprinkles instead of a chocolate coating. It was new and different for me, and I think it works!

Alright Twisties, I hope you enjoyed this snack tasting post. Have you ever visited Turkey before? What are some of your favourite snacks or dishes? What are some of your favourite memories? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Stay safe and have fun,

Helen & Matt xx