Mahane Yehuda Institution · Sesame Confection

Market Halva

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

The market's halva counters sell dozens of flavors from the same sesame-paste base — from plain and pistachio to coffee and chocolate swirls — and offer tastes on a knife tip.

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 large wheels and blocks of it, cut fresh for anyone walking by.

Why it's made this way: Halva shops have long been a fixture of Mahane Yehuda, and the market's best-known counters have turned a once-simple confection into a market destination in its own right.