Loukoumades by any other name would taste as sweet

The star of every fair in Cyprus, and a childhood favourite for many, Loukoumades are a dessert consisting of leavened, deep-fried dough balls, typically soaked in syrup or honey and sometimes dusted with cinnamon or other flavourings.

Loukoumades trace their origins to Abbasid Baghdad. Etymologically, the term derives from the Arabic word luqma, meaning morsel, mouthful or bite. In 13th-century Arabic culinary texts, the dish was referred to as luqmat al-qādi, or judge’s morsels, with...