Turkish delight, lokum or rahat lokum and many other transliterations (Ottoman Turkish:رَاحَة الْحُلْقُوم‎ rāḥat al-ḥulqūm, Turkish:Lokum or rahat lokum, from colloquial Arabic:راحه الحلقوم‎ rāḥat al-ḥalqūm) is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are mostly flavored with rosewater, mastic, Ber****t orange, or lemon. The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar, copra, or powdered cream of tartar, to prevent clinging. Other common flavors include cinnamon and mint. In the production process, soapwort may be used as an emulsifying additive.