Which Turkish ice cream is known for its stretchy texture from salep and mastic? The answer is Dondurma.
Dondurma is the Turkish word for ice cream, but outside Turkey it commonly refers to the distinctive chewy style associated especially with Kahramanmaraş. Its unusual texture comes from salep, a flour made from ground orchid tubers, and mastic, a plant resin that adds elasticity and chewiness. Cream or milk and sugar complete the base.
Compared with conventional ice cream, dondurma is denser, more resistant to melting, and sometimes firm enough to be cut or eaten with a knife and fork. Maraş dondurması contains particularly high levels of salep, giving it its famous stretch. Preparation traditionally involves vigorous beating with long-handled paddles.
Street vendors have made the dessert famous through theatrical serving routines, spinning cones and playfully pulling them away. Booza is also a stretchy ice cream-like dessert, especially associated with the Levant, so it is a plausible distractor; however, the Turkish specialty identified by salep and mastic is dondurma. Gelato and kulfi have different traditional formulas and textures.