I was tidying the files on my computer this morning and found the photos of this pumpkin candies. I remember taking its pictures a few years ago when we bought it from a new dessert restaurant we discovered in Eskisehir. It is a special restaurant serving desserts of Antakya, Hatay (a city located on the South of Turkey). Antakya, which was first called Antiocheia in 300 BC , has a very large cuisine with several unique and scrumptious dishes. This pumpkin dessert is one of these unique dishes. It is the only pumpkin dessert served in Antakya, so when you order pumpkin dessert in a restaurant there, they bring this one. The pumpkin dessert I wrote about before here is the common one around the country, but it is not made in Antakya. They have this special candy like pumpkin dessert instead. Also, there are street vendors selling this pumpkin dessert in Antakya, and people can buy just one slice and eat it walking.
This pumpkin dessert is originally made from white pumpkin which is grown in Antakya. However, it can also be made with regular pumpkin if you can not find white pımpkin. It is not soft and it has rather a crispy texture unlike the common pumpkin dessert. What makes it crispy is slaked lime in its recipe. Lime is something that is commonly used in making jams of certain fruit or vegetables like eggplant or watermelon. You will read how it is used below.
Here is the recipe for Antakya Kabak Tatlisi:
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Pumpkin Dessert Candy Version
A crsipy dessert from pumpkin.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo pumpkin, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1 kilo sugar
- 200 ml water
- ½ lemon
- To prepare pumpkin:
- 500g slaked lime
- 10 liter water
Instructions
- Mix water and lime. Wait it 7 or 8 hours. Lime will sink and you will use the water on its surface. Pour this water on pumpkin slices and wait it about 7 hours.
- Then wash them well. Wait them in clean water about 1 hour.
- Put them in a large pot, pout sugar and 200ml water on them.
- Cook about 1 hour until it has right consistency and pumpkin slices get golden.
- Add a few lemon drops and cook a few minutes more.
- Let it cold. Don’t put it in refrigerator.
- Serve it as it is, it doesn’t need any topping, you just grab one slice and eat it.
The origin of this recipe is Armenian. West of Turkey once belonged to the Armenians before the genocide. The Turkish people weren’t familiar with pumpkins in those days.
My mother made this at least once a year. It was delicious. She was born in a lime mining village in Aegean Macedonia.
I remember eating these in North Cyprus when I was a little kid over 30 years ago. They did other types as well as pumpkin but not sure what vegetables they used, buthe can remember dark red ones and green ones. White pumpkin was always my favourite ones. Want to try this with regular pumpkins but was wondering when you use the slaked lime in the water, can you reuse the slaked lime again later or do you dispose of it?
Hi Ozan! I didn’t know this is made in North Cyprus too. Thanks for the info. As for your question about lime, as far as I know you should use it just once.
Thanks Zerrin
Antakya and North Cyprus are practically neighbours. Just a little swim away.
My Mom is making this right now, as jam not as candy. so she waits the pumpkin in the slaked rime only for one hour. We live in Easter Kurdistan( in Iran).
Also, is pickling lime the same as slaked lime?
Hello,
I followed the recipe as you instructed. They turned out very good as far as taste. Are the pumpkin pieces supposed to be soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside? If not, what would i have done wrong?
Thanks.
That’s right Hala, these are crunchy outside and soft and juicy inside. As for the other question, I’m not sure what pickling lime is, never used any type of lime for pickling before, but we do use slaked lime for some jams to keep the fruit from getting mashed.
Greetings,
I would like to ask, Could you substitute Alum for the Lime in the recipe for the Candied Pumpkin, I have just been very curious about this. My Mum says she used to use it back in the Village before she came to Canada, but I wanted to make sure before I attempt it.
Many thanks,
Samira
Hi Samira, never tried or heard that Alum can be used for this dessert. I made a quick research on Turkish websites, but can’t find any posts telling about the use of alum in recipes. If your mom says she used it before, I guess it’s ok though.
Thanks for another way to cook pumpkin. My husband and I were blessed this season with an abundance of it.
Slaked lime can be found in the pickling section of the supermarket….not pickles but pickling and canning section. It is used to make things like pickled watermelon rind.
Wow – I had pumpkin candy made this way from a visiting Hispanic lady who was from Texas – something like 50 years ago. She didn’t go into the details, but said that you treated the pumpkin with lime somehow. I loved it, but had forgotten about it until reading this.