[Sca-cooks] Hulwa? Related Sweets?

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jun 19, 2005, at 1:58 AM, Mike C. Baker / Kihe Blackeagle wrote:

> Having been introduced to this confection today by HL Saqra al- 
> Kudsi, in her kitchen as part of advanced preparation for  
> Lindenwood Midsummer Masked Ball this year, I am looking for more  
> information about the origins, variations, and related developments  
> that may exist out there.  (For those who may be as new to this  
> concept as I was, hulwa [hul-wah?] might be considered an ancestor  
> or parallel development of divinity and similar boiled-sugar  
> candies...)
>
> Along similar lines, what about variations on the theme such as a  
> softer delicacy I grew up enjoying in central Oklahoma, probably  
> originating from a _Grit_ or _Capper's Weekly_ recipe:  Date-Nut Log

Which, in turn, sounds a bit like rahat-loukhoum, a.k.a. Turkish  
Delight, so maybe we just came full circle. Hulwa is any of quite a  
few several sweets of the boil it, pour it into a pan, and cut it  
into chunks type, and can be made from several different ingredients.  
Sesame paste is a common modern commercial ingredient, but almonds,  
pistachios, semolina, date syrups, maybe coconut, and what seems like  
a billion other types were either found in period, or are today found  
in a geographical band of Islamic influence from Gibraltar to  
Southeast Asia.

There are several recipes for different types of hulwa in al- 
Baghdadi, as I recall, and this is probably
a good starting point. You can also find worked-out recipes in the  
Florilegium (I assume) and in Cariadoc's Miscelleny.

Adamantius

"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la  
brioche!" / "If there's no bread to be had, one has to say, let them  
eat cake!"
     -- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,  
"Confessions", 1782

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?"
     -- Susan Sheybani, assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry  
Holt, 07/29/04