Any bakers/confectioners around? Question about halva

[Yellownotblue]

I’ve tried a few times to make halva at home, but it does not get the right crystallised texture, it’s more like soft gooey fudge. Still tastes good, but does not hit the spot.

All the recipes I can find online say to get the sugar/honey to the soft ball stage (240F), but I also saw some online comments saying the sugar needs to be at 260F otherwise it stays too gooey. But then some people say it gets sort of sandy if you leave it that long.

If you make home made halva, how do you achieve the flaky, crystallised texture?

TIA

Do they pour it out onto marble slabs like fudge? The contrast of hot onto cold makes crystals?.

Do you buy confectioners sugar?. I love halva, it’s one of the few foods I have so self control with.

jamiegeller.com/recipes/israeli-halva/. This man advises leaving it in the fridge. My mum used to nanny for Jewish people and came back with a broader palette.

Thanks! I’ve now tried heating the honey to 260, and the texture is definitely better, although still not perfect. Apparently the crystallised texture of commercial halva can only be achieved if you do it in huge quantities, something to do with keeping it hot as you add the tahini, nuts etc.

I may try pushing it to 270 next time and see what happens.

I’ve also read you need to avoid over mixing the tahini - but if you don’t stir enough, it separates.

For something with only three ingredients, this is surprisingly complex!

I’ve not tried doing it with sugar, I always start with honey. Maybe sugar would have a different texture?

Honey is traditional though and crystallises naturally when it’s cold.

Did you notice how thin his halva was in the photo compared to shop bought too?. Although in the Middle East surely there wasn’t that much refrigeration available when halva was being made.

Would home made tahini make a difference I wonder?.