Lök: Mysterious love of mulberry and walnut

Local and foreign guests are showing interest in the centuries-old lök dessert of Kemaliye, the touristic town of Erzincan, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

The lök dessert, also called tatuni dessert, dates back to 300 years ago and is made with dried mulberry and walnut. It is said to have been served in palaces in the past and leaves a unique taste in the mouth.

Lök, also known as "the sultan's dessert," is almost indispensable for domestic and foreign tourists who come to Kemaliye, which has an important potential in tourism, for vacation.

The dessert, which was once made in places called "lökhane" by beating with a mallet on a mortar stone, is now produced in abundance in the district by using technological opportunities to ensure widespread consumption throughout the country.

Faruk Sağçolak, a 52-year-old "lökhane" owner in the district who has been producing sweets for years, told Anadolu Agency that the beauty of the centuries-old dessert comes from organic products.

The number of people who visit the district to taste lök, which is also defined as the "mysterious love of mulberry and walnut," is also high, Sağçolak said.

"We dry the mulberry and add the walnut after grinding," he said. We make lök by making 2,000 to 2,500 strokes with our mallet weighing approximately 12-13 kilograms. This is a kind of dessert that decorates our tables and satisfies the hearts and eyes of our guests," he said.

The dessert is a major energy source for the body, Sağçolak said.

"Our dessert, which is the combination of mulberry, which makes the intestines work, and walnut, which makes the brain work, is a complete energy source that works both our brain and intestines. Lök is indispensable for young...