Feeding the Ottoman Army - Warrior's Halva

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I'm amazed at how descriptive and detailed the recipe from the book is. Seems like a complete outlier compared to other historical cook books.

As a Turkish person, I can indeed confirm that you can eat an entire pot of helva in one sitting. Also, nowadays, helva is usually made after someone has passed away in the family. We also make helva on the death anniversary of our loved ones, so right now, I think it is associated with death more than anything else.

The chemistry of the roux: As the flour cooks, the strands of starches unwind, at first just hanging out with the fat (1st liquefication), then forming a network that traps the fat (re-firming). Then as the starches cook, they get broken down, losing their thickening power but developing deeper flavors (second liquefication), releasing the fat it had previously trapped. The longer you cook it, the deeper the flavor (as long as you don't burn it), and the less thickening power the flour will have. This recipe aims for the sweet spot of a medium roux, smack in between a blonde roux and a brick roux. This way it doesn't lose all of its thickening properties, but has considerably more flavor than if the flour was just barely cooked. When you add the milk, the proteins and sugars in the milk tangle with those starches that remain in the flour and re-establish a matrix, one that's robust enough to trap both the fat and the liquid. My thanks to Alton Brown and Good Eats for that bit of cooking science. I'd be interested to try this with maple syrup as the sweetener, or chestnut honey, which has a bittersweet flavor.

In Albania today we make hallva when someone dies. Also there was a curse "may i eat your hallva" which means wishing someones death

Trained chef here. The chemistry of roux is *fascinating*. So, flour is mostly made of sugars and protiens, and its the protiens we're interested in. Gluten, the same protien that makes bread firm and stretchy, is what's causing that liquid firming reaction you noted. In the dry state, gluten doesn't really do much, but as you add water to it, it forms a sort of mesh network throughout your product, providing more structure than the addition of the liquid removes.

My family is from Azerbaijan and we still eat Halva for breakfast. My favorite is sunflower seed halva with butter and honey, it’s so good

Turkish officer here! It was great and educative to watch this. But also wanted to pass my two cents on several points. A- "The copper cauldron with their symbol on it" has much more history behind it than it seems. The "Kazan" (Cauldron), was the center of Janissary regiment similar to a Roman Aquila. While they did not identify themselves with the cauldron as opposed to Romans did with Aquila, it was sentimental centre of its regiment. By keeping it open, the regiment were accepting Sultan's food and his authority. Likewise, the first and imminent indicator of a Janissary revolt was seeing the cauldrons upside down. Heads started rolling shortly afterwards. In modern Turkish army this food refusal notion survived. While refusing to eat regimental food as an individually is ok, large groups rejecting food has a VERY negative connotations. It is still perceived as a revolt. On top of that City garrisons are still using the term Cauldron in Turkish army today to describe headcount. While the common soldiery belongs to a regiment's "Kazan" and eats from that cauldron, contractors - engineers and officers are outside of it. So by looking at the cauldron spendings you can figure out rough headcount. B- "Gaziler Helvası" (or the warriors halva it was named here) is aimed to please the veterancy. It was served to the ones who survived the onslaught. Which is a sort of died down tradition today. However this pastry has a sinister brother "Şehitler Helvası" (Halva of martyrs) is still very much alive. That is made without milk, with almost burnt charred semolina and pine nuts and served on a plate. If a military company returns from the front with reduced numbers it will still ordered to be cooked into full complement. Distributed a spoonful each to every surviving troop. Then it is consumed with a somber mood and in total silence and considered rude to ask or have more. But it is a great affront to refuse eating it. Corporal cook traditionally raises his ladle and points to those who did not have some and announces "Halva of martyrs". Then the company customarily glances to how much halva left in the "Kazan". Also, the Turkish culture outside the barracks still associates halva with funerals more than anything else. C- Hard tack culture completely died down today. While the importance of bread in Turkish Army cannot be overstated. Even getting fed with 5000cal diets, inability to supply white bread is the total nightmare of any company/battalion/regimental commander. Turkish soldier does not believe he can get full without his daily complement of bread. In the same time, he has a very strong (stoic even) resilience towards the lack of other food -as long he has his bread. In 1922 their daily ration was 2.15kgs of bread loaf with little to none else. In these conditions they fought a offensive war and won. Today the hard tack derivatives are basically sweet fatty crackers with 17g sugar and 7g fat (per 100g). You really wouldn't want to announce to the troops that they have to use hard tack though. (Where's our bread?) D- I think Officer's mess halva recipe has milk today and it is as rich as it can be. But it strayed too far from the original recipe. Non-milk ones are resembling the non-dairy realities of 17th century Ottoman army logistics better.

It is customary in Turkey to cook Helva as a dish during funerals. Which i think what the Ghazis of the time did too. Ghazi means, in the historical context, a holy warior. Gaza being a holy cause. So they probably cook it after the battle as a funeral/rememberance for the fallen friends or families. A quite an interesting video. Thanks!

I love helva so much it is pretty common dessert still. we call this version 'un helvası' (flour halva). another version made with Semolina is great aswell. That is called İrmik Helvası (Semolina Halva) I love your channel. Much Love from Turkey :))))))))

That hardtack clip is probably the most valuable clip ever filmed. So many recipes you can just throw it in for a quick laugh, and appropriately. The "Hard Tack Clack" will be your "Wilhelm Scream", just iconic

Turkish here. We still make this helva in Turkey today. But it is not on daily basis because we like to consume it after someone died to honor their soul. My mom makes it whenever i want but it is hard to find this particular helva in market. Also the recipe can be changed if you dont like milk. We dont use milk when making but sometimes grape molasses can be added instead of sugar. While serving you can put toppings like hazelnut or walnut. The nutty flavor is real. I made this in Romania and everyone who ate asked if i put any nuts inside but answer was no. The nuttiness is accomplished by the flour turning darker. Give it a little more time without burning and you can taste it more.

Turkish coffee is a style or even ceremony more than a bean. You should definitely try it with your favorite Trade coffee! It's pretty simple and involves very finely grinding your beans into a flour-like consistency and adding to a small pot with sugar and milk (if desired) and brewing it up. It's often stopped just prior to boiling when it begins to foam, where a little foam is skimmed off and put in each serving cup before its heated again and then poured into the cups. The fine powder of the coffee is not filtered and, when it's ready, makes the coffee strong, rich, and even a little thick, which would be a perfect compliment to the sweet Halva.

Did you see they've found silphium growing in Turkey? It still exists! I was so excited, and all due to your show. Always so fun and informative.

Of all the airlines I've ever flown, Turkish Airlines stands out as the one that keeps you fed the best... now I see there is a historical trend there, very interesting.

A high quality research with tasty food. I felt like having a chat with a historian while I am cooking my halva at home. In Turkey it is called flour halva. It is the most basic and old fashioned desert recipe which your grandmother cook for you at the winter nights. It is the desert you cook for your guests in informal dinners to surprise them. Everybody feels home when they eat flour halva. I think I will go and cook some halva now... And watch more of your videos. Thank you!

As a Turkish, my father cooks helva (we say it this way) and we add semolina and milk. Plus street food restaurants ad ice-cream inside it. It's very delicious.

We call the syrup (şurup in Turkish) you make here 'şerbet', which is what the French word 'sorbet' originally was. We also consider syrup and sorbet to be two distinct sweet sauces. Both words were originally loaned from Arabic. Fun fact: Syrup (şurup), wine (şarap) and sorbet (şerbet) in Turkish come from the same Arabic root, 'shrb' (or 'şrb' in Turkish). Edit: Food was a really important aspect of janissary customs. The rank that was equivalent of a sergeant today was called 'çorbacı', meaning 'soup maker', for example. Another edit: Oh nooo I lost the heart because I edited the comment :'(

My grandma used to make this a lot. She would sprinkle it with a little cinnamon instead of sugar. Got me right in the feels, Max. Thank you.

Hi Max! I don’t know if you’ll see this but I just wanted to thank you for creating this channel and putting so much effort into your content. I can almost feel the passion behind your videos. At first I was just curious about the evolution of certain dishes. But you reawakened the love for history within me through food. You even taught me about my own culture. I cannot thank you enough for making this channel. I hope you know how just how much this channel means to a lot of us. Thank you so much. From a fan from Macau, China.