Pistachio Atom Cezerye – Turkish Carrot Sweet, Antep Pistachios

Atom cezerye is one of the most striking forms of a classic Turkish confection: a round ball of cooked, naturally sweet carrot paste rolled until it is completely covered in whole green pistachio kernels. Each piece is hand-finished so the carrot centre almost disappears under the nuts, giving the "double pistachio" coating its name and its deep, roasted-pistachio flavour.

Cezerye (from the Arabic jazriyya, meaning "with carrot") comes from Mersin on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, where grated carrots are slowly cooked down with sugar until soft and chewy, then bound with nuts. Unlike Turkish delight (lokum), which is a starch-and-sugar gel, cezerye is built on real carrot — that is what gives it its warm orange colour, its dense bite and its distinctive caramelised-carrot taste. The atom version takes the same carrot paste and shapes it into bite-size balls instead of the traditional matchbox rectangles, then coats every side in pistachios for crunch in every mouthful.

The pistachios here are the green, intensely flavoured Turkish type associated with Antep (Gaziantep), the region most famous for pistachio sweets. Whole kernels — not a dusting — are pressed into the surface, so you taste the nut first and the sweet carrot centre second.

This is a confection, made simply from carrot, sugar and pistachios. It contains pistachios, a tree nut. Keep it cool and dry and reseal after opening to protect the coating.

Serve pistachio atom cezerye the way Turks do: a couple of pieces alongside Turkish coffee or black tea, on a sharing platter for guests, or as a richer alternative to chocolate. It also makes a recognisably Turkish gift. Choose 250g to try it, 500g or 1kg for a household or gathering, and 3kg for events, gifting or resale.

Available in 250g, 500g, 1kg and 3kg.