I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Dondurma or Turkish/Azerbaijani ice cream is a quite a popular dessert especially in Istanbul where it's usually sold by street or small shop vendors. However, trying to get your ice cream can leave you screaming as the vendors taunt and tease you with playful tricks before you can get your hands on that delicious dondurma.
The special thing about Turkish ice cream is that it has a thick and rich texture that's sticky and hard yet moldable.
Imagine super dense pieces of gum rolled up into a large sphere, it's more appetizing than it sounds! Dondurma is made from 4 main ingredients which include the traditional milk and sugar, as well the less well-known mastic and salep, which is more common in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking.
Mastic is a resin that is obtained from Mastic trees that are local to that region and salep is a flour made from a special type of orchid tuber. These ingredients enable the dondurma’s inherent stretchiness and resistance to melting.
Istanbul, which is a highly cosmopolitan city that sits in the middle of the European and Asian continent, is truly a mix of the west and the east.
As you would expect there are a plethora of bold and unique flavor options for the dondurma.
Although restaurants serve dondurma for a higher price, I think it is best enjoyed outside while strolling down the street as it is more about the full experience of getting the ice cream rather than just the dessert.
Popular flavors include cherry, which is a traditional flavor in Turkey, as well as pistachio, mint, and hazelnut. Alongside vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry there is a flavor for everyone.
Enjoy the fun antics of the vendor operators that don red, green, purple, and gold embroidered vests as they scoop up large heaps of the dondurma on 3-4 foot long metal staffs.
Although you might be prepared for their teases, they will always leave you laughing and on the edge as the flip, dip, and spin the cone and ice cream all over the place without it ever falling or becoming damaged in any way. After a few minutes, the vendor likely will feel pity for you and give you your ice cream.
Typically dondurma is also served in wafer thin cones that help contain the ice cream altogether and I think enhance the experience of chowing down on the ice cream.
Upon the first bite, the dondurma melts in your mouth sort of, it requires slightly more chewing than regular American ice cream, I would compare it to a mix of cotton candy and taffy.
Unfortunately, the export of salep, which is what makes dondurma so special has been banned by the government of Turkey.
I guess it goes to show just how amazing this dessert is, however one food scientist named Dave Arnold has come up with a way to recreate it to near perfection, the only thing missing will be the ever so entertaining antics of ice cream sellers.
