On Food and Cooking

Pulled  Sugar   and Almond  Confection  in

13th-century    Baghdad

Medieval Arab cooks were among the first
to explore sugar’s remarkable sculptural
qualities, as these early examples of pulled
sugar and marzipan show.

Dry Halwa
Take sugar, dissolve in water, and boil
until set: then remove from the dish, and
pour onto a soft surface to cool. Take an
iron stake with a smooth head and plant it
in the mass, then pull up the sugar,
stretching it with the hands and drawing it
up the stake all the time, until it becomes
white: then throw once more onto the
surface. Knead in pistachios, and cut into
strips and triangles. If desired, it may be
colored, either with saffron or with
vermilion.

Faludhaj