Halvah

This is delicious, but three notes of caution: turn mixer down to LOW before mixing in the hot syrup, wear oven mitts because hot syrup will splash out (ouch) and really do mix for as short a time as possible. Mine turned sandy almost immediately, perhaps because mixer was too high, or I was distracted by my burning finger. Still good for any recipe with crumbled halvah, but not really sliceable.

When I was younger I craved halvah but since I developed diabetes its not for me. I will stick with using tahini to make hummus. I make my own tahini, it is really easy to do and is so much cheaper than store bought. It is just sesame seeds and a little oil, ground in a food processor or similiiar machine. I use a Nutri Ninja.

Easy and delicious.

After reading the reviews here, I made it by hand, beating with a wooden spoon so it was a little softer but still great. I brought it to Shabbat lunch and people devoured it!

Don't omit the lemon zest, it's what makes this halvah so much better than store bought.

I also used fair trade sugar, which is darker, but its only impact on this recipe was on my conscience, so use the sugar you have.

Ummmm that's not really the way to make halvah, I'm middle eastern and we make it WAY differently it's. It even close to being fudge like.... you don't put lemon zest you put saffron which is VERY expensive I might add....

I use "Once Again" organic tahini (non GMO)
Also, a nice variation on this is to add some cocoa powder to about a 1/3 of the mixture and then swirl this in!

So adjust the honey next time. Simple. No need to be rude.

Ive tried making the halva before using another recipe, but it was a disaster, the oil separated out. This time I got it right! Perfect instructions! I did use the candy thermometer, very useful and the zest of lemon did help retard the crystallisation. On reading earlier comments it was clear that medium speed was ideal and as soon as the mixture started separating from the sides I removed it from the mixing bowl into the prepared dish. Same texture that Ive seen in Dubai!

I would recommend putting this in the fridge for 24 hours after it cools to room temperature. That is how the texture that you expect halva to have forms. If you leave it out, it will remain a bit soft and fudgy.

This is great! Just made it - yum! Used candy thermometer, followed the directions, was easy, took about ten minutes. Thank you!

Notes from other cooks: —I make my own tahini, it is really easy to do and is so much cheaper than store bought. It is just sesame seeds and a little oil, ground in a food processor or similiiar machine.

Is it possible to make halvah with less sugar? I love halvah but find that it is too sweet for my taste.

Sorry but traditionally, top quality Halvah is always made with honey, not plain sugar.

It has been a long time since I had a cookng disaster but this was one. I think I poured the syrup in too slowly and should have had the mixer on low instead of medium. By the time I had finished pouring in the syrup a cloudy liquid appeared in the bowl and the halvah was the opposite of soft and fudgy.

Using this recipe, my halvah never crystallized--it stayed the texture of soft caramel. I'm just wondering if 245 is hot enough. Does the syrup need to get to hard ball stage for this to work?

Far too sweet. This is not anything like what halvah is supposed to taste like. Another recipe that called for 3 Tbsp of honey was INFINITELY superior.