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I thought the exact same thing during my childhood-- it surely had to be something amazing and delicious to convince him to hang out with that nasty witch. When I found out they were jelly candies, I was a little disappointed. Not that they are bad, but not enough to sway my allegiance. Oh Edmund, so weak.

I remember reading the book in 4th or 5th grade and our teachers brought in "Turkish delight" (lime jello with powdered sugar. I swore that it was a real food and that it did not include lime jello. The teachers kept telling me that I was wrong and said that it was a fake food. I kept the argument up, but they kept telling me it was imaginary. I may have argued with teachers a bit too much through elementary and middle school. That summer I went to Seattle with my family and I found Turkish delight at some stall in Pikes Place market. AAAHH sweet vindication! My parents didn't get why I was so excited about it.

ps. I actually am not a big fan of the stuff. I had some when I was in Ireland and I wasn't impressed.

OMG! Me too! I read that book and tried to imagine something that tasted so good you would betray your family for it. One day I was in a convenience store and saw a Big Turk bar. It said that it was turkish delight covered in chocolate. When I got home and tried the Big Turk I though, okay it's candy but not super fantastic, I forgot who I am candy. So disappointed.

Yes! I think so many of us dreamed fantasy Turkish Delights. Even in the tv movies, you couldn't really see what it was, so the mystery was preserved. A friend and I are actually thinking of starting a cafe or a series of food events based on book memories like this one--foods we'd never heard of that took on exotic proportions in our minds, mixed with foods that have prominent places in books (plum pudding from anne of green gables, raspberry cordial from same, bread and jam and poached eggs on toast from Frances..., the list goes on). Ideas welcome.

oh how could i forget the plum pudding from anne of green gables?! you know, it was just the same for me as the turkish delight--in the movie, it just didn't look anything like what i expected plum pudding to look like, and i figured it was some fantastically exotic victorian dessert. i think it's a wonderrful idea you have, rosasharne! if i think of any more, i'll be sure to post them.

also, benbenberi, thank you for finally explaining why edmund loved turkish delight so much. i never thought about rationing--how silly of me.

and as for your teacher, linz0, i guess it was good of them to try to recreate a literary moment for you, but when you're a kid, doesn't it feel vaguely disillusioning, if triumphant, to realize how much smarter you are then the adults?

I too grew up wondering what the heck Turkish Delight was and didn't find out what it was or taste it myself until a few years ago. My interest was re-piqued when I saw the movie and a few days later I was in Economy Candy and there it was! After like 15 years of expectation it was kind of disappointing but I like jelly candy so it was alright. I thought the rose flavor was a little strange though.

My wife's family were big fans of Aplets and Cotlets, and I'd get some when we visited during the holidays. They were good, but nothing to sing about. Later I found out that they were basically just Turkish Delight with apples instead of rose water or pistachio, and my reaction was similar to a lot of other people's in this thread-- "Edmund did it for these?"

I had never heard of it until a box showed up at work last year. I love the rose candies. If I close my eyes I feel like I'm inside a rose.

Another guy at work said it tasted like a grandmother. Guess its not for everyone.

I had lokum on a trip to Istanbul and it is amazing! You have to taste it from the source...I'm sure whatever you can get in specialty supermarkets here is not the same...

Oh Proust, oh Nabokov - memory speaks!

Under the influence of Edmund, I nagged consistently for Turkish Delight a prolonged period of time when I was a kid of about 7, only to be consistently refused by my mother and other assorted family members, including my Turkish grandmother, who all claimed it was disgusting and I wouldn't like it. Part of their rationale was that I disliked anything with a jellied consistency (I still don't). To my American delight, they finally relented; the snowy dusted squares looked so tantalizing that I could well understand Edmund's sacrifice. I took one much longed for bite, and BLECH! Not only was it slimy and toothachingly cloying, if bathroom spray had a taste, it would be that of Turkish delight. I immediately spit it out and had to listen to "I told you so" and "spoiled brat" for longer than I had nagged.

I've had Turkish Delight since I was a kid; it was often served as part of the dessert platters that would be put together at Iranian gatherings. I either loved it or hated it depending on the flavor, but this past summer I tried Turkish Delight/lokum freshly made in Istanbul, and man, the difference in taste is uncomparable!

My favorite are the pasha lokum, and the hazlenut ones are delicious too.

We have a candy factory in the area that makes Aplets and Cotlets- 2 Turkish brothers moved here years ago and started making their traditional candy with what was available in the Yakima Valley (apples and apricots.) They have more flavors now, and they're all so yummy!

I was just like you, I ached to know what candy could be so good to betray everyone, even if they were meanie-heads (in his mind) to him! I'd seen it a few times but never felt inclined to get it; the first piece I ever had was in Turkey, in the famous ginormous bazaar in Istanbul... and it was ridiculous good. I mean I think I might turn away from everyone I know (and I don't even like sweets that much) if that was on offer.
I've had it a few times since, from local sources (in NYC) and...it isn't the same. The real deal is way better. Maybe it's in the water or something, like a NY bagel is a NY bagel. I don't know. I wait for the next friend to go to Turkey to bring me back some :)

Unlike so many of you, I actually knew what Turkish Delight was when I read the book (4th or 5th form I think?), and I could never understand Edmund as I've always found Turkish Delight pretty but seriously lacking in the flavour department (still do, even 20 something years later).

when I read the book, I definitely went to bed every night thinking that turkish delight was probably so good that I'd trade my sisters for it in a second. I also finally had some of the real stuff in my 20s (after already having discovered some years earlier that it wasn't anything like the chocolatey, caramely, nutty confection that I thought it might be) and I was SO sad. Sad because it wasn't anything like I dreamed, and sad because a friend had brought a big box of it from Turkey for me, and I was so disappointed that I couldn't enjoy it for what it was.

I actually first thought Turkish Delight was some sort of Turkey dish (maybe turkey dumpling?) oh I was so young and naive.

I thought it was going to be a buttery, flaky pastry, but when I actually got some I fell in love with it anyway. I can't have it in the house, or I'll devour the whole box, just like Edmund.

I even like those chocolate-covered "Turkish Delights" from Cadbury. Oh my!

I've always wanted to try it! When I was a kid I thought it was completely all fantasy as well, though in my older years, working at Big Lots for a brief time we had a Fruits Delight, which was similar but I figured was the closest I'd ever get to it...

I first tried Turkish Delight (after, like you, reading about it in the Narnia books) about two years ago and really hated it! However, since coming to London, I have discovered that delicious Turkish delight does, in fact, exist! There's a vendor in Borough Market (pretty much my favorite place in London) that sells Turkish Delight and Baklava, and they're always giving out free samples. Free, DELICIOUS samples! I've tried pistachio and rose, and they are super creamy and flavorful! I'll definitely be bringing back a couple boxes to DC for a little British holiday flavor.

This may sound silly, but I always thought Turkish Delight was a meat dish. I had no clue it was candy. This was when I was probably six or seven, watching the PBS version. I was so shocked when I found out it was a sweet.

@ Christopher - LOL!!!!!! "Another guy at work said it tasted like a grandmother."
THAT WAS HILARIOUS.

I never tried Turkish Delight until I was in college. My first taste was a homemade batch - I found the recipe years before I ever found a shoppe that stocked the sweet. The results were tasty, if not a perfect specimen. Later, I found a little shop in Pike Place Market (in Seattle) that stocked Turkish Delight. I LOVE the rose flavor!

If anyone has never tried Turkish Delight, they can get a similar experience by finding themselves a box of Aplets & Cotlets, made in Cashmere, WA. (Costco stocks them this time of year.) These candies were invented by two men (one from Turkey and the other from....???). They wanted to find a way to use the plentiful and cheap apples and apricots in the region to make candy. The result is Turkish Delight, studded with walnuts and flavored with more American flavors.

Turkish Delight is the usual for my family every year at Christmas, Cadbury even make Dairy Milk with Turkish Delight in.