Transcription
Luna: To make koubeta, we buy sesame seeds. There are white sesame seeds and natural ones. I use natural sesame seeds.
We put them in a bowl and wash them. We wash them and drain them. This is the process. It's done 5-6 times. We bring them to their natural form. And again.
After we say it's finished and clean, I put it here like this to drain. After I leave it for 2 hours to drain well, I immediately take it and put it on the kitchen tray, depending on how much quantity we have, and we leave it at 50 degrees. Slowly as it warms up, I work it, I turn it. Then I put it at 100 to roast the sesame seeds.
After the sesame seeds are roasted, I then put it little by little in a pan with the help of the wooden spoon to toast it a little.
The proper measurement is for 1 kilo of sesame seeds which I have washed and toasted, I add around 600 grams of honey with one glass of sugar. I have ready toasted almonds that we throw in and lots and lots of walnuts. As many almonds as the housewife wants to add more.
But normally it's for 1 kilo of sesame seeds, I add 600 grams of honey with one water glass of water and I also add one water glass at least of almonds which other housewives leave as they are. I blanch them, I peel them, I put them to toast a little to cook a bit and then I add them.
We let this bind very well and we stir it continuously. For the housewives to understand, how it binds after it makes bubbles and all, we take a small plate, we put a little water, that's how a lady showed me, a little water.
This starts now here and boils if you see it, but we let it boil enough. I have 2 grated oranges from the grater that I grate with the onion grater to be coarsely chopped. This gives the nice aroma.
The almonds are whitened and toasted, which I have thrown in for them to honeyed and to be. When you toast them they become better of course.
We add the orange zest and let the mixture bind. I started here, I had water on the plate. I put this. Here it tells me it needs a little more. You understand. Now this is done.
From the moment this is done we add the sesame seeds and stir very quickly for the sesame seeds to bind with the honey and the honey, the sugar, the almonds, the orange to all become one, to incorporate well and bind.
When it starts to unstick from the bottom, it's ready. I've turned it off now and I'll keep it here for as long as I had it in children.
Michalis: Is the sesame white or black?
Luna: There are two kinds of sesame. The natural one they call it and the white one. We all here use the natural sesame.
I also wet it with water so it doesn't stick. This is what the water is for. We'll take all these... With the help of two spoons, the wooden one and this one, we spread it here.
One helps the other. We open it a little. It should be wet to do the job better. And we take now.
The thinner the better. Very much. Others tell me that you make it very thin. I like it. The thinner the better.
You make it from here on. You play it yourself alone as you want. This.
You try to make it like this so we don't have too much at all... Very lightly though the rolling pin. Yes. Because if you press it a little look what happens. You understand. And it needs a little wetting. Many times my mother-in-law would wet the rolling pin too. Yes. Yes. So the sesame seeds don't stick on top.
And now accordingly we give the shape and size according to how we want it.
Michalis: Should I bring you a glass of water to wet it?
Luna: No it's fine. We continuously wet the rolling pin. We have a glass next to us and we dip it.
As we cut it, we thin it a little from the other. It just needs quick cutting because this hardens a lot afterwards.
I always remember my mother-in-law when she made it at home how fast she was to cut them, quickly so they wouldn't stick.
And now we start the other phase. You see now it starts to harden. You saw she cuts them and will place them upside down to flatten on the other side too.
Michalis: Not only to flatten, to cool too.
Luna: And we start again. They're all made, they're now all on the reverse side. We turned it to cool on the other side too. The koubeta is finished.
In this part of the interview, Luna shares her knowledge of how to make koubata, a traditional Jewish sweet. In a detailed and practical way, she describes the entire process from preparing the sesame seeds—washing, draining, and roasting—to making the syrup with honey, sugar, and orange zest. Luna explains the secrets of successful koumpeta: the correct ratio of ingredients (1 kg of sesame seeds, 600 g of honey), the technique of binding the mixture, and the importance of quick processing before it hardens. Through personal references to her mother-in-law, the succession of generations in preserving this tradition becomes apparent. The interview offers a valuable guide to making this distinctive Jewish sweet and bears witness to the community's rich culinary heritage.
Luna Arar
Transcription
Luna: To make koubeta, we buy sesame seeds. There are white sesame seeds and natural ones. I use natural sesame seeds.
We put them in a bowl and wash them. We wash them and drain them. This is the process. It's done 5-6 times. We bring them to their natural form. And again.
After we say it's finished and clean, I put it here like this to drain. After I leave it for 2 hours to drain well, I immediately take it and put it on the kitchen tray, depending on how much quantity we have, and we leave it at 50 degrees. Slowly as it warms up, I work it, I turn it. Then I put it at 100 to roast the sesame seeds.
After the sesame seeds are roasted, I then put it little by little in a pan with the help of the wooden spoon to toast it a little.
The proper measurement is for 1 kilo of sesame seeds which I have washed and toasted, I add around 600 grams of honey with one glass of sugar. I have ready toasted almonds that we throw in and lots and lots of walnuts. As many almonds as the housewife wants to add more.
But normally it's for 1 kilo of sesame seeds, I add 600 grams of honey with one water glass of water and I also add one water glass at least of almonds which other housewives leave as they are. I blanch them, I peel them, I put them to toast a little to cook a bit and then I add them.
We let this bind very well and we stir it continuously. For the housewives to understand, how it binds after it makes bubbles and all, we take a small plate, we put a little water, that's how a lady showed me, a little water.
This starts now here and boils if you see it, but we let it boil enough. I have 2 grated oranges from the grater that I grate with the onion grater to be coarsely chopped. This gives the nice aroma.
The almonds are whitened and toasted, which I have thrown in for them to honeyed and to be. When you toast them they become better of course.
We add the orange zest and let the mixture bind. I started here, I had water on the plate. I put this. Here it tells me it needs a little more. You understand. Now this is done.
From the moment this is done we add the sesame seeds and stir very quickly for the sesame seeds to bind with the honey and the honey, the sugar, the almonds, the orange to all become one, to incorporate well and bind.
When it starts to unstick from the bottom, it's ready. I've turned it off now and I'll keep it here for as long as I had it in children.
Michalis: Is the sesame white or black?
Luna: There are two kinds of sesame. The natural one they call it and the white one. We all here use the natural sesame.
I also wet it with water so it doesn't stick. This is what the water is for. We'll take all these... With the help of two spoons, the wooden one and this one, we spread it here.
One helps the other. We open it a little. It should be wet to do the job better. And we take now.
The thinner the better. Very much. Others tell me that you make it very thin. I like it. The thinner the better.
You make it from here on. You play it yourself alone as you want. This.
You try to make it like this so we don't have too much at all... Very lightly though the rolling pin. Yes. Because if you press it a little look what happens. You understand. And it needs a little wetting. Many times my mother-in-law would wet the rolling pin too. Yes. Yes. So the sesame seeds don't stick on top.
And now accordingly we give the shape and size according to how we want it.
Michalis: Should I bring you a glass of water to wet it?
Luna: No it's fine. We continuously wet the rolling pin. We have a glass next to us and we dip it.
As we cut it, we thin it a little from the other. It just needs quick cutting because this hardens a lot afterwards.
I always remember my mother-in-law when she made it at home how fast she was to cut them, quickly so they wouldn't stick.
And now we start the other phase. You see now it starts to harden. You saw she cuts them and will place them upside down to flatten on the other side too.
Michalis: Not only to flatten, to cool too.
Luna: And we start again. They're all made, they're now all on the reverse side. We turned it to cool on the other side too. The koubeta is finished.