Jump to content

Dondurma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dondurma
Image
Dondurma topped with walnuts and pumpkin sauce
TypeIce cream
Place of originTurkey
Main ingredientsMilk, salep, sugar, sometimes mastic, sometimes Cream
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Dondurma

Dondurma is the Turkish word for ice cream. Maraş dondurması or dövme dondurma is a Turkish variety associated with the city and province of Kahramanmaraş, known for its elastic texture and distinctive preparation. Traditional Maraş dondurması is made using goat's milk, salep (flour made from the tubers of certain orchids), and sugar.[1]

A related variety is Greek kaimaki ice cream, traditionally associated with an elastic texture and flavours such as mastic. The Greek word kaimaki derives from Turkish kaymak, which refers to the thick layer of cream that forms on the surface of heated or boiled milk.[2] This linguistic relationship does not, by itself, establish the origin of kaimaki ice cream.

Booza (Arabic: بُوظَة, romanized: būẓa) is a type of ice cream traditionally associated with the Levant. The Arabic word būẓa has been proposed to derive from Ottoman Turkish buz (ice).[3] The Turkish word buz is recorded in Nişanyan Sözlük as an inherited Turkish word.[4]

Description

[edit]

Two qualities distinguish dondurma: hard texture and resistance to melting, brought about by inclusion of the thickening agents salep, a flour made from the root of the early purple orchid, or mastic, a resin that imparts chewiness.[5][6] The strand-like texture is sometimes mistakenly attributed to mastic rather than salep.[7]

History

[edit]

Food historian Priscilla Mary Işın notes in Osmanlı Mutfak Sözlüğü (Ottoman Culinary Dictionary) that it is unknown when salep-based milk ice cream was first made, but that the earliest known recipe dates to 1882.[8] The recipe appeared in the Turkish cookbook Ev Kadını (Housewife), written by Ayşe Fahriye. It is the earliest known printed recipe identified for milk ice cream thickened with salep, a powder made from the tubers of certain wild orchids.[9]

The recipe instructs the cook to heat milk, sugar and salep together, stirring until the milk boils. Snow is then added, and the mixture is transferred to another container and beaten vigorously to achieve the desired consistency.[9] Işın contrasts this method with contemporary Italian recipes, which used eggs to thicken ice cream, whereas the Turkish recipe used salep.[9]

According to Işın, the ice-cream mixture was prepared in a lidded container made of lead and tin, fitted with a turning mechanism. This container was placed inside a larger bucket equipped with a drainage tap. A crank allowed the mixture to be stirred continuously without opening the lid.[8] In the Ottoman Empire, frozen fruit juices and sherbets were consumed before milk-based ice cream became established. Historical records discussed by historian Zeynep Özlü indicate that ice cream was being made in Ottoman society by the 17th century, initially in domestic settings and dervish lodges before becoming a commercially sold product. References to milk-based ice cream and ice cream made using snow or ice appear in 18th-century sources. A manuscript written by the Mevlevi dervish Ali Eşref Dede in 1856 contains three recipes for ice cream: one made from strained aşure, one sugar-based variety called elmasiye, and one made with milk. During the 19th century, ice cream was sold by various groups of tradespeople, including confectioners and pudding sellers.[10]

Regional varieties

[edit]

Turkey

[edit]

The Kahramanmaraş region is known for Maraş dondurması, a variety which contains distinctly more salep than usual. Tough and sticky, it is sometimes eaten with a knife and fork.[11]

Historical sources document a variety of ice creams in Ottoman cuisine. These included milk-based ice cream, ice cream made from snow or ice, and non-dairy varieties prepared with ingredients such as strained aşure or sugar-based mixtures. Recipes and descriptions from the 18th and 19th centuries also mention strawberry, apricot, sour-cherry and cream-based ice creams, as well as varieties made with different kinds of milk and with salep.[12]

Greece

[edit]

A distinct variation of dondurma is also consumed in Greece, especially in the north of the country, where it is called dudurmas or kaimaki.[13]

The word dondurma is Turkish, formed from dondurmak ("to freeze") and the deverbal suffix -ma. The Greek name dudurmas appears to be a variant of this Turkish term. The word kaimaki derives from Turkish kaymak, meaning cream or the thick layer that forms on heated milk; in Greek, the word is also used for the chewy ice cream made with salep and mastic.[14][15]

Greek kaimaki is characterised by its chewy texture and traditionally uses salep and mastic to produce its distinctive consistency and flavour.[16]

A 2024 report in To Vima documented the continuation of traditional kaimaki production in Greek family ice-cream shops. It described the Kanakis family's account of a recipe associated with an ancestor who had made the dessert in Çeşme, in present-day Turkey, before the family settled in Greece. The report also described traditional preparation methods involving beating the mixture in a large barrel.[17]

The Levant

[edit]
Image
A dish of booza topped with pistachios served at the Bakdash ice cream shop in Damascus

Booza (Arabic: بُوظَة, romanized: Būẓah, lit. 'ice cream') is a frozen dairy dessert. It is traditionally made through a process of pounding[18] and stretching in a freezer drum, instead of the more usual churning method used in other ice creams, leading to a creamy yet dense texture.[19][20][21] Orange flower water[22] or rose water are sometimes added for flavoring.[23] The firmness of booza allows it to be shaped into a roll, which is a popular traditional serving method.[24][25] It is often served with qishta.[25] It shares an origin with the Turkish dondurma.[26][27][28]

In Al-Hamidiyah Souq in the Old City of Damascus, there is an ice cream store named Bakdash that is known throughout the Arab world for its stretchy and chewy ice cream. It is a popular attraction for tourists as well.[29][23] Booza has been made by Bekdash since at least 1895.[30]

Mastic flavored salep-based booza is made in Jordan.[31] It is also made in Ramallah, in the West Bank by different brands, having spread there from Damascus.[32][33]

Internationally, the first packaged take-home version of booza in Australia was created in 2011.[34] Booza vendors can be found outside the Levant region in areas like the Bay Area and Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the US,[18][35][22] and Sydney, Australia.[36]

Wild orchid conservation and cultivation in Turkey

[edit]

In Turkey, salep orchids are protected under national regulations, and the export of salep collected from the wild is prohibited. The international trade in wild orchids is also subject to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).[37][38]

Commercial salep cultivation in Turkey is subject to government oversight. Under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's production rules, registered farmers must obtain planting material from authorised sources, notify the relevant agricultural directorate before harvesting, and have the harvested tubers recorded. The regulations provide a framework for producing salep for domestic sale while reducing pressure on wild orchid populations.[39]

Because of the conservation concerns associated with harvesting wild orchids and the limited availability and cost of salep, alternative stabilisers have also been investigated and used in ice cream production. These include locust bean gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar gum and other stabilising agents, which can reproduce some of salep's thickening and textural effects. A 2003 study evaluated these ingredients as alternatives to salep in cow's-milk ice cream, while subsequent research examined the partial replacement of salep with stabiliser mixtures in Maraş-type ice cream. The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has also noted the use of other stabilisers in modern commercial production of Maraş dondurması.[40][41][42]

In May 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced the registration of Turkey's first locally developed salep varieties, named Balyumru and Bolyumru. Developed through the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), the varieties were presented as a means of increasing cultivated production and reducing dependence on wild harvesting. The ministry stated that increased production could eventually enable salep exports; this announcement did not itself establish that unrestricted exports were permitted.[43]

Culture

[edit]
Image
Dondurma vendor performing a trick, presenting an entire container's worth of ice cream atop a single cone

Dondurma is commonly sold from both street vendors' carts and store fronts, where the mixture is churned regularly with long-handled paddles to keep it workable. Vendors often perform magic tricks and practical jokes, with examples including presenting the ice cream cone on a long stick or pole, and then taking away the dondurma by rotating it around, or serving it with an extra cone that comes away from the actual cone when the stick is lifted. These tricks serve the additional purpose of attracting prospective customers, as well as entertaining people waiting in line.[44]

Consumption

[edit]

As of 2010, annual ice cream consumption in Turkey was reported at 2.8 litres per person, compared with 14.2 litres in the United States and 17.9 litres in Australia.[45][46]

Dondurma is also sold outside Turkey. In Germany, for example, Turkish ice cream is available through specialist cafés and franchises, including MADO, which opened a location in Cologne in 2025.[47]



[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Maraş Dondurması". Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Kaïmaki". Cyprus Food Museum.
  3. ↑ Procházka, Stephan (2004). "The Turkish Contribution to the Arabic Lexicon". In Éva Ágnes Csató (ed.). Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion: Case Studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic. RoutledgeCurzon. pp. 191–202.
  4. ↑ "buz". Nişanyan Sözlük (in Turkish).
  5. ↑ Crowley, Chris (10 August 2017). "Dondurma Is the Chewy, Stretchy Ice Cream You Need to Know About". New York. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  6. ↑ O'Hare, Maureen (18 June 2026). "Dondurma: The stretchy, chewy ice-cream that never drips". CNN. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Darra Goldstein (2015). The Oxford companion to sugar and sweets. New York, NY : Oxford University Press. pp. 434, 746. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  8. 1 2 Priscilla Mary Işın (2010). Osmanlı Mutfak Sözlüğü [Ottoman Culinary Dictionary] (in Turkish). Kitap Yayınevi. p. 99. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Işın, Mary (2013). Sherbet and Spice: The Complete Story of Turkish Sweets and Desserts. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 233–242. ISBN 978-1-84885-898-5. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Özlü, Zeynep (2011). "Osmanlılarda Dondurma ve Dondurmacılık Mesleği ile İlgili Notlar" [Notes on Ice Cream and the Profession of Ice-Cream Making in the Ottoman Empire]. Erdem (59): 129–144. doi:10.32704/erdem.2011.59.129.
  11. ↑ "Dondurma: The Turkish ice cream eaten with a knife and fork". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  12. ↑ Özlü, Zeynep (2011). "Osmanlılarda Dondurma ve Dondurmacılık Mesleği ile İlgili Notlar" [Notes on Ice Cream and the Profession of Ice-Cream Making in the Ottoman Empire]. Erdem (in Turkish) (59): 129–144.
  13. ↑ Zoumpopoulou, Georgia (2020). "Kaimaki ice cream as a vehicle for Limosilactobacillus fermentum ACA-DC 179 to exert potential probiotic effects: Overview of strain stability and final product quality". International Dairy Journal. 123 105177.
  14. ↑ "Kaïmaki". Cyprus Food Museum. Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "dondurma". Wiktionary. Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Zoumpopoulou, Georgia (2021). "Kaimaki ice cream as a vehicle for Limosilactobacillus fermentum ACA-DC 179 to exert potential probiotic effects: Overview of strain stability and final product quality". International Dairy Journal. 123 105177. doi:10.1016/j.idairyj.2021.105177.
  17. ↑ "Greece's Kaimaki Ice Cream Getting Harder to Find". To Vima. 2024.
  18. 1 2 Fabricant, Florence (11 June 2018). "Move Over Soft Serve, There's a New Ice Cream in Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  19. ↑ This ice cream stretches like gum - CNN Video, 30 August 2018, archived from the original on 5 February 2021, retrieved 7 May 2019
  20. ↑ "WHAT IS BOOZA?". REPUBLIC OF BOOZA. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  21. ↑ "Traditional Booza Ice Cream Debuts in Brooklyn". Michelin. 27 June 2018. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  22. 1 2 "A stretchy, hard-to-find ice cream arrives in the Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  23. 1 2 Arellano, Gustavo (5 February 2018). "The Syrian Baker Who's Bringing the Middle East's Most Famous Ice Cream to California". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  24. ↑ "Refugee shares a taste of homeland by creating business selling traditional Syrian ice cream 'bakdash'". CityNews Ottawa. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  25. 1 2 Vicars, Natasha (12 July 2023). "Syrian booza in London: A Damascene ice cream made with soul". London Museum. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  26. ↑ Rahmanan, Anna Ben Yehuda (22 February 2020). "Meet the Middle Eastern ice cream poised to swarm social media". Fortune. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  27. ↑ Rahmanan, Anna Ben Yehuda (13 April 2023). "8 ice cream styles from around the world". Nat Geo Travel. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  28. ↑ Grow, Rachael (2 February 2024). "Booza: The Stretchy Ice Cream From The Middle East". Mashed. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  29. ↑ Amos, Deborah (4 May 2013). "As Syria Melts Down, Ice Cream Shop Sets Up In Jordan". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  30. ↑ ""بكداش".. دمشق تودع رائد صناعة "البوظة العربية"". Sky News Arabia (in Arabic). 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  31. ↑ "عمّان.. من "حبيبة" إلى بوظة بكداش". The New Arab. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  32. ↑ ""ركب"... العائلة الّتي ارتبط صيف فلسطين باسمها" ["ركب"... العائلة الّتي ارتبط صيف فلسطين باسمها]. Arab 48 (in Arabic). 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "Gooey Goodness: Ramallah's Stretchy Ice Cream Delights". NPR. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  34. ↑ "Bring on the booza". 24 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  35. ↑ "Traditional Booza Ice Cream Debuts in Brooklyn". MICHELIN Guide. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  36. ↑ Hrovat, Bianca (7 February 2025). "The stretchy ice-cream from Tripoli that Concord locals are queueing for". Good Food. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  37. ↑ "Salep Orkidenin En Lezzetli Hali" [Salep: The Most Delicious Form of the Orchid]. Türk Tarım Orman Dergisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  38. ↑ "Gıda Amaçlı Salep Üretimi ve Çoğaltımında Uyulması Gereken Usul ve Esaslar" [Procedures and Principles for Food-Use Salep Production and Propagation]. Adıyaman Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry (in Turkish). 9 October 2026. Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  39. ↑ "Gıda Amaçlı Salep Üretimi ve Çoğaltımında Uyulması Gereken Usul ve Esaslar". Adıyaman Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry (in Turkish). 9 October 2026. Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  40. ↑ Keçeli, Türkan; Konar, Atilla (2003). "The Effects of Salep and Some Alternative Stabilizators on the Qualities of Cow's Milk Ice-Cream". The Journal of Food. 28 (4).
  41. ↑ Türkmen, N.; Gürsoy, A.; Akal, C.; Ünal, E. M.; Keskin, E. (2021). "Evaluation of salep obtained from different wild orchid species of Turkey and their use in Maras type ice cream". Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 45 (12) e16063. doi:10.1111/jfpp.16063.
  42. ↑ "Yazın vazgeçilmezi dondurma moral artırıyor, mutluluk veriyor" [Ice cream, an indispensable summer treat, boosts morale and brings happiness]. Türk Tarım Orman Dergisi (in Turkish).
  43. ↑ "Tescillenen İlk Yerli Salep Çeşitleriyle Verim 4 Kata Kadar Artacak" [Yield to Increase up to Fourfold with the First Registered Domestic Salep Varieties]. Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (in Turkish). 28 May 2026. Retrieved 16 October 2026.
  44. ↑ "Turkish Ice Cream Tricks". Istanbul.com. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  45. ↑ "Ice cream consumption grows by a third in 2010". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012.
  46. ↑ "The World Scene". University of Guelph, Food Science. 2010. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  47. ↑ Arens, Johannes (5 November 2025). "Anatolische Lokale verschönern das Kölner Stadtbild". der Freitag (in German).
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dondurma&oldid=1380992709"