With the coming of each Eid al-Fitr, the malban comes out of hiding, ready to eat after 40 days of preparation.“The malban is a Turkish sweet that doesn’t need a machine because it is best made by hand. The most important thing is cleanliness. What distinguishes it from other sweets is it takes the longest time to make.
Using a needle, the first step is to thread walnuts on to a rope which is about 125-200 cm in length, keeping 10 cm between each walnut. This step alone can take 15 days.
The next step is to make the liquid mixture that coats the walnuts and creates the chewy texture. The mixture is made from flour, sugar, and mastic (a type of plant resin used to make Arabic gum and other Turkish sweets), all cooked in a copper cauldron.
Once the mixture is ready, the next phase is to cover the ropes one at a time with the cooked liquid. After three days, this step is repeated again and again – usually four times in total – and then the ropes are gathered up, chopped into pieces and sold. (Daily Star)
