Jazariyya, Latakia’s carrot sweet

Jazariyya is a Latakia sweet made by cooking carrots, or pumpkin, slowly with sugar and setting the mixture in a tray. The slices smell of cinnamon and are topped with walnuts, almonds, cashews or pistachios. It sits in the city’s sweet-shop windows all year. In Ramadan it is the most sought-after sweet, and it is made at home as well.

How it is made

First the carrots boil for about an hour. They then go into a sackcloth bag and are pressed under a heavy stone until the water runs out. The pulp cooks with sugar over a low flame for a long time, and cinnamon goes in. Once thick, the mixture is poured into a tray, left to cool, cut into slices and topped with nuts. Some cooks scatter coconut over it too.

Carrot or pumpkin

There are two versions. One is made with carrots, the other with the pumpkin called qar’. In 2019 SANA, describing what Latakia families offer their guests, named jazariyya alongside the city’s pumpkin jam.

How it differs from Turkish cezerye

Turkey has a carrot sweet of the same name; the cezerye of Mersin carries a protected geographical indication and is known for its coat of coconut. Three things set the Latakia version apart: the carrots are pressed dry, cinnamon goes in, and there is a pumpkin version. The sweet lives on both coasts, made two different ways.

The sweet people ask you to bring back

When someone travels to Latakia, relatives in other cities usually ask for jazariyya. Athr Press calls it the city’s best-known popular sweet; sweet shops sell it, and older women still make it at home.

Where to find it

In the windows of Latakia’s sweet shops, all year. During Ramadan it is also made at home after iftar, the meal that breaks the fast, and offered to guests.