What stretchy Middle Eastern ice cream is traditionally made with sahlab and mastic? Booza is the answer.
Booza is a dense, elastic Levantine ice cream traditionally thickened with sahlab and flavored or stabilized with mastic. Instead of being churned in the usual way, it is pounded and stretched in a freezer drum, producing a chewy texture that can be pulled, folded, and shaped into rolls.
The dessert is closely associated with Damascus, especially the Bakdash ice-cream shop in the Old City’s Al-Hamidiyah Souq. Bakdash helped make this stretchy style famous across the Arab world, although booza is also found in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Levant. Orange-blossom water and rose water may be added for fragrance, and pistachios are a common topping.
Food historian Mary Isin dates booza’s history in the Levant to the 15th century. It is often linked to Turkish dondurma, another elastic ice cream, but the two traditions are not identical. Dondurma is strongly associated with Turkey, while booza’s sahlab-and-mastic combination and pounding method define the Levantine style.
Kulfi and gelato are different frozen desserts: kulfi is usually dense and unmixed, while gelato is churned and does not normally have booza’s stretch.