What does dondurma taste like?

Dondurma, which is the Turkish word for “freezing,” refers to the country’s taffy-like ice cream. Apart from the usual milk and sugar, it contains powdered orchid bulbs, known as salep. Using salep makes dondurma thick and firm enough to cut with a fork and knife, as well as slower to melt. A pine resin called mastic sap adds both flavor and extra elasticity.  For those who want stretchy ice cream without the evergreen taste, dondurma comes in chocolate and fruit flavors. The stretchiness also comes from the labors of dondurma vendors, who beat the ice cream with long metal rods and knead it like dough. Residents of Maras, a city in southeastern Turkey, have long made dondurma out of ice from the surrounding snowcapped mountains. Orchid dondurma is an increasingly local treat, as the orchids used for salep have never been commercially cultivated. Dwindling supply led the Turkish government to ban their export, so dondurma vendors abroad often substitute guar gum or konjac flour, which have a similar, stretchy effect. Beyond its culinary benefits, chewy ice cream offers the potential for spectacular showmanship.

Dondurma also has inherent qualities that are mind-boggling to travelers accustomed to Western-style ice cream. Not only is it made from the starchy pulp of exotic wild orchids –- but it also never melts. Adding to the curiosity is an aromatic mastic sap or pine resin ingredient extracted from relatively obscure mastic trees growing primarily in Chios, Greece, but in Turkey as well. The orchids provide an ingredient known as salep, which comes from grinding exclusive orchid bulbs, grown and sold within Turkey, into a powder that's mixed with the mastic sap. Add the other two ingredients, sugar and milk (traditionally goat's milk) for an impressively thick, stretchy, chewy ice cream. In addition to being delicious, the elasticity is perfect for entertaining kids and adults alike. The rods are reflective of a traditional preparation method in which dondurma experts beat the ice cream with the long rods, mixing and kneading until it reached the desired thick, chewy texture. This thick delight won't drip even as temperatures soar, and you'll notice a slightly different texture to American-style ice cream — slightly less creamy but with a wonderful chew and stretch. You can also order it in thick slices, especially in Turkish restaurants, often topped with regional garnishes such as pistachios, cinnamon, honey, or other spices. Since the mastic sap tends to retain its evergreen pine taste, purveyors offer alternatives for hesitant tastebuds.