Alkanater Halawa, Sesame Candy (Pistachio, 2 LB)

I originally purchased this for a coffee cake recipe I wanted to try, but I kept eating it before I had the chance to make the recipe. It’s just that good. Two years and 4 containers later, I finally got around to making the recipe, which turned out fantastic, btw. In case you want to try it, it is called Black Sesame Halva Coffee Cake on the King Arthur Flour website. Love it!

Somehow I think this should be spelled Halva - but however it's spelled this is GREAT! After reading tons of reviews for this & other brands I chose this for size, price and quality. The top screws on tightly (this is for the review that said they couldn't get the top off). The container is plastic and I did take several pictures of it when it arrived. Amazon shipped this plastic tub that is in a plastic bag inside a PAPER mailing bag - the tub was cracked across the entire bottom an up one side. For most people this would have meant a return, but since this product is firm and there was no leakage from the crack, I decided to keep it. Had it now for months eating it a little (or a lot) at a time and I'm still alive and admittedly loving this each time I remove it from the back of my refrigerator where I try to forget it is so I don't over consume it. Believe me this takes will power! If you enjoy good halva, you know what I mean! It is hard to stop eating, just one more little slice.... This one has pistachios but they are mostly in the top inch of the tub (which is large!) but that is OK because even with no nuts it would be a first choice. The grand problem I see is from Amazon's packing for shipping - I truly don't believe this product arrived to Amazon as a cracked container. Shipping it in a PAPER mailing bag, we actually watched the delivery person TOSS this bag and two other BOXES onto the porch. So how could you expect a plastic tub with no real packing around it to NOT crack? So for those of you reviewers who complained about the condition of the product when it arrived, I ask how was it shipped to you? Amazon, improve your packing method for products such as this, unless you just like getting returns.

I have tried perhaps four or five different company’s halvahs here on Amazon, and find this one to be one of the best. I like the pistachio flavor but wish it was more diffused through the entire product and not just a layer on top. Obviously it would bump the price up but it would be worth it. Perhaps the top layer of fresh pistachios could be distributed throughout the entire tub. The tub is the largest I have seen, weighing in at 2 pounds.I found it slightly on the dry side, but I prefer that to being too oily. It’s a terrific value and I have it coming every month in Subscribe and Save!

I like halva and I have tried most of them by now, and this is the best. They are all pretty similar - I guess they worked out the recipe about 1000 years ago and it's pretty standard by now, but this brand seems better or fresher or something. But you need those pistachios! Without the nuts, halva is too sweet. The pistachios are a perfect complement to the halva, but none of the brands includes anywhere near enough nuts. I buy shelled pistachios separately and add them to the halva so that every spoonful contains plenty of nuts. Taste of Heaven.

A great authentic product. Very well made. It’s a real taste of a real traditional Mediterranean product. Also, it was reasonably priced.

This is precisely like the halwa I ate in the Middle East. It was fresh and tasty. I appreciate the dryness--not at all oily. The outside is coated in pistachios. Not overly sweet, but just right. Honestly a quality product. And the tub is reusable and dishwasher safe!

Been eating Halvah since Jova was the only thing out there - have been trying various brands.A lower-cost, sesame-first ingredient list was worth trying.Texture is fine grained - a nice light feel.I understand why its so popular.But for me, it's just TOO SWEET.

As your basic shut-in, I have tried to find products through Amazon that correspond with their real world counterparts, to avoid the evil outside world and all its sinister brick and mortar (just kidding, support your local biznezzes!). Since I am 10 miles of bad traffic away from the last place I got good Halava, I have, upon occasion, thrown caution to the wind and ordered other brands here on Amazon, in hopes of finding a lower emission solution. Interestingly all the ones i tried once and never ordered again all had the same problem.The finish. Halva is meant to feel like eating foam filled with nonpainful glass. Imagine biting into a million tiny panes of glass that seamlessly liquify into sugary goodness on the tongue. There is a crystalline quality to the finish, which is terrible in ice cream, but essential to halawa. I don't know why they would, but I think people are adding some kind of emulsifier to halava which RUINS IT.Other, bad halva feels like biting into a soft foam that turns into a slime and then liquid in the mouth.Just like people enjoy fresh cotton candy more than packaged cotton candy, people expect sugar crystals in their halavawa. Alkanater understands. So buy this. it is good.