Return Of The Best Candy In Howard County

Pistachio nougat at Turkish Family Market

Pistachio nougat was one of my first HowChow finds, and it remains one of the easiest treats to grab at a Middle Eastern market.

My original source closed in Elkridge, but I found a new supplier at the newish Turkish Family Market just off Rte 40 in Ellicott City.

This is pure pistachio nougat.  Chewy rectangles of candy studded with bright green nuts.  You get sweetness and crunch.  It doesn't have the rose flavor from the Fard brand that I used to buy, and I have to say that I may like pure pistachio even better.  (And it's another chance for me to convince Wordbones, who didn't love.)

Seriously, this nougat is delicious.  Pieces come individually-wrapped, so it's a great little treat.  It's unique enough to be a hostess gift, especially if you transfer the candy into something nicer than a plastic clamshell.

The Turkish Family Market opened in 2011, but it's pretty new to me.  They have a butcher and a variety of fresh and canned goods similar to Nazar Produce Market in Columbia.

Turkish Family Market
8457 Baltimore National Pike (Rte 40)
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-750-0679

NEAR:  Turkish Family Market is just off Rte 40 east of Rte 29 a few doors down from the C&B Italian Delly.  The shopping center has some stores actually facing Rte 40, then some behind those. Turkish Family Market is in the back section. You actually need to turn south off Rte 40, then turn into the parking lot.

Fard Pistachio Nougat at Sizar's Food Mart

(Update: Sizar's moved to Elkridge in February 2009 and changed its name to Ceazar International Market.  But it closed in 2011.  You can buy Fard nougats at Caspian Market on Rte 40 in Ellicott City.  I don't recommend the Imperial Nougat Co. brand at Pars Market because it lacks the rose flavor, coming off more bitter.)

(Update II: By 2014, Pars sells terrific nougat.  I don't know the brand, but it's among the best that I have ever had -- very soft, great flavor.)

A real candy. The Fard brand pistachio nougat at Sizar's Food Mart is a light, slightly chewy rectangle. Sweet with the flavor of rose water and the real crunch of pistachio.

Real candy because it has nothing artificial. Just corn syrup, sugar, nuts, egg white and rose water. A few dozen individually-wrapped candies in an 8 oz clamshell. The rose and sweetness make these as delicious as any candy that I can remember -- a strong but light flavor that makes them unique.

The package isn't cheap -- like $7.49. But it would be a beautiful gift if you repackaged the nougat with some tissue paper and a nice box. It's also just a treat worth stopping any time that you are near Sizar's on Snowden River Parkway.

More about Caezar's at these posts.  Or more about ethic groceries in Howard County.