Mahane Yehuda Institution · Sesame Confection

Market Halva

Photo: היידן / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

A single Mahane Yehuda halva counter makes more than 100 different flavors from the same sesame-paste base — everything from plain to pistachio to bourbon.

Ground sesame paste (tahini) is whipped with hot sugar syrup until it sets into a dense, flaky block, then sliced to order in dozens of flavors and swirls. Mahane Yehuda's dedicated halva counters display room-sized wheels of it, cut fresh for anyone walking by.

Why it's made this way: The market's best-known halva shop, Halva Kingdom, traces back to a store that opened in Jerusalem's Old City in 1947 before relocating to Mahane Yehuda after the family was displaced, turning a once-simple confection into a market destination in its own right.