Loukoumi with Mastic, Perfumed Sweetness
Small translucent and tender cubes, gelled and perfumed with mastic and rose water, rolled in sugar. A portable sweetmeat to offer and share.
Small translucent and tender cubes, gelled and perfumed with mastic and rose water, rolled in sugar. A portable sweetmeat to offer and share.
They were presented to me on a small copper tray, with a glass of cold water and coffee — that is our hospitality. This sweetness smells of Chios resin, a scent of tree that the ancient Greeks already chewed; biting into it, I felt the entire Hellenic Mediterranean contained in a trembling cube. Take one, I pray: one never offers a loukoumi without also offering a little time.
- •Sugar — a lot (base)
- •Starch (cornstarch) — as needed (gelling agent)
- •Mastic of Chios — a few tears, crushed (perfume)
- •Rose water — a dash (perfume)
- •Icing sugar and starch — for rolling (coating)
Loukoumi with Mastic, Perfumed Sweetness
Small translucent and tender cubes, gelled and perfumed with mastic and rose water, rolled in sugar. A portable sweetmeat to offer and share.
Why this dish? In cosmopolitan Alexandria, these perfumed cubes were bought from the Greek confectioner and nibbled with coffee; the mastic of Chios connected Cavafy to the Hellenic Orient of his poems.
They were presented to me on a small copper tray, with a glass of cold water and coffee — that is our hospitality. This sweetness smells of Chios resin, a scent of tree that the ancient Greeks already chewed; biting into it, I felt the entire Hellenic Mediterranean contained in a trembling cube. Take one, I pray: one never offers a loukoumi without also offering a little time.
Ingredients (period version)
- Sugar — a lot (base)
- Starch (cornstarch) — as needed (gelling agent)
- Mastic of Chios — a few tears, crushed (perfume)
- Rose water — a dash (perfume)
- Icing sugar and starch — for rolling (coating)
Ingredients
- Sugar — 400 g (base)
- Cornstarch — 120 g (gelling agent)
- Water — 55 cl (dissolution)
- Lemon juice — 1 tsp (anti-crystallization)
- Mastic of Chios — 3 tears, crushed with a little sugar (signature perfume)
- Rose water — 1 tsp (perfume)
- Icing sugar + cornstarch (equal parts) — for rolling (coating)
Method
- In a saucepan, dissolve sugar in 25 cl water with lemon juice, bring to a simmer.
- Separately, dissolve cornstarch in 30 cl cold water, whisking to avoid lumps.
- Pour the cornstarch mixture into the hot syrup, whisking energetically, then cook over low heat for 40–50 minutes, stirring often, until the mass thickens, becomes translucent and golden.
- Off the heat, stir in the crushed mastic and rose water.
- Pour into an oiled and lined mold, smooth the top, and let set overnight at room temperature.
- Cut into cubes and roll in the icing sugar-cornstarch mixture.
How it was made : Loukoumi ("delight") is a confection shared by Greek, Ottoman, and Levantine worlds. It was cooked in a copper cauldron, stirred relentlessly for hours with a wooden spatula — a confectioner's labor. Mastic, resin from the mastic tree of the Greek island of Chios, is its most prestigious perfume.
The contemporary twist : A pinch of crushed pistachios in the dough and served on wax paper as in old-fashioned confectioneries.
Constantine Cavafy · Charactorium
