AKİDE

Akide Şekeri is a kind of candy that is one of the oldest products of the Ottoman cuisine. In the dictionary “akide” means faith, devotion and rule. In the Ottoman period Akide şekeri was used at the Sultan’s salary ceremony for the Janissaries. On the salary day, three-month wages were given to the Janissaries and in the palace yard, they were served rice and a kind of sweet made of gelatin. After the Grand Vizier and other statesmen also ate the meal, the sugar candies were presented to the Janissaries on plates. If they accepted the offered sweets, it was a sign that they were pleased. Later İstanbul confectioners began preparing sugar candy with spices like cloves and cinnamon, and thanks to famous confectioners like Hacı Bekir, sugar candy became quite popular. Even in our days, especially at bayram, it is a taste that little İstanbullu cannot forget. However, chocolate and other kinds of sweet have become more popular and they are taking the place of the sugar candy.