How to make wild rose lokum (Turkish delight)

To make the rosewater, gently rinse your rose petals under soft running water, and pop them in a glass heat-resistant bowl. Boil the fresh water and then pour gently over the rose petals, leaving to steep in the bowl for 20-30 minutes.

Then use a piece of muslin or cheesecloth to pour the water into a warm, sterilised bottle, leaving the rose petals aside for the compost heap. After the rosewater has been used for this recipe, the rest can be stored in the fridge.

To make the lokum, start by placing 180ml of the water in a large stock pot over a medium heat with the lemon juice and sugar.

Stir thoroughly until the sugar dissolves into the mixture, and then insert the sugar thermometer so that it’s hovering in the liquid rather than touching the bottom.

Keep boiling the liquid until it reaches 115°C, and then remove the pan from the heat.

Leave to cool slightly. Meanwhile, add the rest of the water to another large pot, along with the cream of tartar and cornflour, and whisk well over a medium heat.

Keep whisking until the mixture boils and it resembles a thick paste, then take it off the heat.

Slowly pour in the sugary syrup a little at a time, and keep whisking to ensure it blends in well. Then scrape down the sides of the pan to ensure all the sugar crystals are mixed in, and stir for one or two minutes more.

Pop it back over a medium heat and continue to stir until the mixture slowly comes to a boil.

At this point, turn the heat down to its lowest setting and leave the mixture to simmer for an hour, stirring every few minutes to stop it sticking.

After an hour, turn off the heat and add in 2 teaspoons of your homemade rosewater; you can also add in a few drops of red food colouring if you want your lokum to be more vibrant, but I prefer a natural colour.

Next, take a baking tin at least 5cm deep and grease it with almond oil. Line the tin with baking parchment and then grease that, too, to ensure the lokum will definitely not stick.

Pour your gooey mixture into the tin and jiggle it to make sure it fills the corners, then leave to set for 6-8 hours.

When it’s ready, tip your lokum onto a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, and peel off the baking parchment to reveal all the surfaces.

Cover every sticky surface with icing sugar, and then use a pizza slicer (icing sugared) to cut your block of lokum neatly into cubes.

Place each cube into a bowl of icing sugar and toss around to cover all sides, before arranging in a pile to serve after dinner.