Mesir Macunu () is a traditional Turkish sweet associated with the city of

Manisa Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province. Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port ci ...

. Earlier versions of Mesir macunu were not sweet, but rather spicy in flavor.

Macun Macun (in Turkish also Macun şekeri) is a soft, sweet and colorful Turkish toffee paste. It is a street food that may be prepared with many herbs and spices. Macun originated from spicy preparations of Mesir macunu, a traditional Turkish herba ...

is a sweet Turkish confectionery

toffee Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee ...

paste that originated from spicy preparations of Mesir macunu.

Herbs and spices used

Below is a list of spices and herbs used in making the Mesir Paste, along with their Turkish and Latin names: Mesir paste of Manisa

* Allspice (Yeni bahar) (Pimenta dioica) *Alpina officinarum root (Havlıcan kökü) (Alpina officinarium) * Anise (Anason) (Anisum vulgare) *

Black cumin Black cumin can refer to the seeds of either of two quite different plants, both of which are used as spices: * '' Elwendia persica'', black cumin is considered similar to caraway, but they are two distinctly different plants. The seeds differ d ...

(Çörek otu) (Nigella sativa) * Black Myrobalan (Kara halile) (Terminalia nigra) *

Black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

(Karabiber) (Piper nigrum) * Buckthorn (Topalak or Akdiken) (Nerprun alaterne) *

Cardamon Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...

(Kakule) (Elettaria cardamomum) * Cassia (Hiyarsenbe) (Cassia) * Chebulic myrobalan (Kara halile) (Terminalia chebula) *China root (Cop-i cini) ( Smilax china) * Cinnamon (Tarçın) (Cinnamomum verum) * Cloves (Karanfil) (Syzygium aromaticum) * Coconut (Hindistan cevizi) (Cocos nucifera) * Coriander (Kişniş) (Coriandum sativum) *

Cubeb ''Piper cubeba'', cubeb or tailed pepper is a plant in genus '' Piper'', cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and c ...

(Kebabe) (Cubebae fructus) * Cumin (Kimyon) (Cuminum cyminum) *Dried orange blossom (Portakal çiçeği) *

Fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

(Rezene) (Foeniculum vulgare) * Galingale (Havlıcan) (Alpinia officinarum) * Ginger (Zencefil) (Zingibar officinalis) *Iksir sugar (Iksir şekeri) *India blossom (Hindistan çiceği) * Java Pepper (Kuyruklu biber) (Piper cubeba) *

Licorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liq ...

extract (Meyan balı) (Glycyrrhiza uralensis fisch) * Licorice root (Meyan kökü) (Glycyrrhiza glabra) *

Mastic Mastic may refer to: Adhesives and pastes *Mastic (plant resin) *Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid * Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay. *Mastic, high-grade con ...

(Çam sakızı) (Mastichum) * Millet (Hintdarisi) (Pennisetum glaucum) * Myrrh (Murrusafi) (Commiphora Molmol) *

Muskroot :''The term "muskroot" can also refer to spikenard'' or '' Adoxa moschatellina'' Sumbul, also called sumbal or muskroot, is a drug occasionally employed in European medical practice. It consists of the root of '' Ferula moschata'', known formerly b ...

(Sümbül) (Adoxa moschatellina) * Mustard seed (Hardal tohumu) (Brassica nigra) *

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

peel (Portakal kabugu) * Rhubarb (Ravend) (Rheum Palmatum) *

Saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in ...

(Safran) (Crocus Orientalis) *

Citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in ...

(Limon tuzu) * Senna (Sinameki) (Cassia senna) *

Turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

(Zerdeçal) (Curcuma domestica) *Udulkahr (Udulkahir) *

Vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

(Vanilya) (Vanilla planifolia) *

Woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...

(Çivit) (Isatis) *Yellow myrobalan (Sarı halile) (Fructus myrobalani)

References

{{UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Turkish desserts Turkish inventions Turkish words and phrases

Herbs and spices used

See also

References