So this isn’t a recipe post, because if I could get my hands on the ingredients to make this Turkish ice cream, I would make it. Alas, the world is cruel, and the main ingredients are not sold outside of Turkey. Why? CONSPIRACY! It’s a long story, which I will expertly summarize. But first, the ice cream.
Jo and I ate dondurma while we were in Istanbul a few weeks ago. It was like nothing I have ever eaten, and for me, it certainly lived up to the hype. You can read all sorts of articles and reviews about it, and most of them will describe a similar awe in its texture and dissimilarity to Western ice cream. It comes in flavors similar to what you’d find in a supermarket, but its consistency is what makes it so special. Describing it doesn’t do it justice, but to understand it, just take a look at this picture:
donduuuuuuuurma.
It’s stretchy and chewy. It’s key ingredients are salep, which is derived from orchid roots, and mastic resin, which is derived from pistachio plants. It has different polymers blah blah blah science blah i dont know blah it’s YUMMY (this article does a better job at showing how cool dondurma is). Unfortunately, because salep comes from orchids, it has hurt the strength of wild orchid populations, and it is illegal to export to other countries. BOOO. I WANT SALEP. Oh well, so I can’t ever make dondurma at home in the US. I guess I’ll just have to dream about it and a return trip to Istanbul…
you'll be in my dreams tonight.
