By location
Ancient Greece and Rome
Similar foods are documented in Ancient Greek cuisine: itrion (ἴτριον) was a thin biscuit/cake made with sesame seeds and honey, [1] the Cretan koptoplakous (κοπτοπλακοῦς) or gastris (γάστρις) was a layer of ground nuts sandwiched between two layers of sesame crushed with honey. [2] Herodotus also mentions "sweet cakes of sesame and honey", but with no detail. [3] The Kopte sesamis (κοπτὴ σησαμίς), or simply κοπτὴ, was a cake made from pounded sesame, [4] only the ingredients are known and not the recipe, but historians think that it may was similar to the modern Greek sesame seed sweet (pasteli) which is made from the same ingredients. [5]
Greece and Cyprus
In modern Greece and Cyprus, sesame seed candy is still baked and called pasteli (παστέλι). It is generally a flat, oblong bar made with honey and often including nuts. Though the modern name pasteli is of Italian origin. [6] On the island of Rhodes, a similar candy exists and is called melekouni (μελεκούνι). [7]
China
Sesame seed candy is called Hei Zhima Su (lit. Black Sesame Crisp) in Chinese. Traditionally it is made with nuts (including peanuts, almonds, and walnuts) or dried fruits (including raisins and dried goji). Traditionally the sweet is made primarily with black sesame. [9]
Vietnam
A variety of sesame seed candy containing peanuts, alongside sesame seeds and granulated sugar, is produced in the central Quảng Ngãi province where it is referred to as Kẹo Gương. It is believed to have been produced in the region for more than 400 years. [10]
Iran
In Iran's Mazandaran Province, it is a popular local candy made in various festivities such as Nowruz and Yalda night. It is usually made as thin layers and may contain walnuts, almonds, pistachios or other nuts.
Poland
Sezamki are a traditional Polish sesame seed candy made from toasted sesame seeds bound together with caramelized sugar or honey. These thin, crunchy bars are a beloved sweet treat in Poland, often enjoyed as a quick snack or dessert.
Halva is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the Balkans, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, liquid oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sweetened with sugar.
Tahini or tahina is a Middle-Eastern condiment made from ground sesame. Its more commonly eaten variety comes from hulled sesame, but unhulled seeds can also be used for preparing it. The latter variety has been described as slightly bitter, but more nutritious. It is served by itself or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva.
Nougat is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts, whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word nougat comes from Occitan nogat, which means 'nutted' or 'nutty'.
Turrón, torró or torrone is a Mediterranean nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped either into a rectangular tablet or a round cake. Turrón is usually eaten as a dessert food around Christmas in Spain and Italy. In Catalonia, there is the delicious torta imperial, a mass of almonds embedded in turrón. In Malta it is sold in street stalls as qubbajd during the parish patron saint feast of the various localities.
Brittle is a type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts, and which are usually less than 1 cm thick.
Dragon's beard candy or Chinese cotton candy or Longxusu is a handmade traditional art of China. It is a traditional Chinese confectionary similar to floss halva or Western cotton candy, which can be found in many Chinese communities. Dragon's beard candy was initially created in China, but soon spread in popularity in other parts of East Asia and South East Asia, becoming a regional delicacy in South Korea in the 1990s, and Singapore in the 1980s, as well as more recently in Canada, and the United States.
Chikki is a traditional Indian sweet (brittle) generally made from nuts and jaggery/sugar. There are several different varieties of chikki in addition to the most common groundnut (peanut) chikki. Each variety of chikki is named after the ingredients used, which include puffed or roasted Bengal gram, sesame, puffed rice, beaten rice, or khobra, and other nuts such as almonds, cashews and pistachios.
Somali cuisine was influenced by many different countries mainly due to trade, but traditionally also varies from region to region due to the expansive landmass Somalis inhabit. It is the product of Somalia's tradition of trade and commerce. Some notable Somali specialties include kimis / sabaayad, canjeero / laxoox, xalwo (halwa), sambuusa (samosa), bariis iskukaris, and muqmad / oodkac.
Hangwa is a general term for traditional Korean confections. With tteok, hangwa forms the sweet food category in Korean cuisine. Common ingredients of hangwa include grain flour, fruits and roots, sweet ingredients such as honey and yeot, and spices such as cinnamon and ginger.
Kuswar or Kuswad is a set of festive sweets and snacks made and exchanged by Christians of the Konkan region in the Indian subcontinent for the Christmas season or Christmastide. These goodies are major parts of the cuisines of the Goan Catholic community of Goa in the Konkan region, and the Mangalorean Catholic community of Karnataka. There are as many as 22 different ethnic recipes that form this distinct flavour of Christmas celebration in Goa and Mangalore. Kuswad is also made and exchanged by Karwari Catholics of Carnataca and the Kudali Catholics of Sindhudurg, in the Konkan division of Maharashtra.
Gozinaki is a traditional Georgian confection made of caramelized nuts, usually walnuts, and fried in honey. In the western Georgian provinces of Imereti and Racha, it was sometimes called "churchkhela", a name more commonly applied to walnuts sewn onto a string, dipped in thickened white grape juice and dried. In several of Georgia's rural areas, both walnuts and honey used to have sacral associations. According to a long-established tradition, Gozinaki is served at special occasions, and is a mandatory component of New Year's Eve and Christmas celebrations.
Baklava is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Gajak, also known as Tilsakri, Tilpatti or Tilpapdi) is a confection originating in north-central India. It is a dry sweet made of sesame seeds (til) or peanuts and jaggery. The sesame seeds (til) are cooked in the raw sugar syrup and set in thin layers, which can be stored for months.
