Dondurma - A Trick or Treat

Dondurma ("freezing") or ice Creams in Turkey are very tasty but buying one can be tricky. The dondurma vendor dressed in the traditional gear goes through the motions of concocting the ice cream before your eyes, enticing you with the various flavours you can combine, that when you get it eventually, it is all the more enjoyable. Turkey has nearly a 500 year old tradition of making ice creams known as Dondurma akin to the Syrian booza and Greek kaimaki, made of whipped cream, sugar, a flour made from orchid tubers called salep and mastic (pine gum).

The unique ingredients make the ice cream uncommonly stretchy, thick enough to be cut to pieces and yet creamy not-so-melty in texture. Our experience of enjoying the Dondurma in the warmth of October is that it just does not dribble. The best part is that there are so many flavours to choose from - exotic berries, summer fruits, autumn fruits, nuts and even baklava.

Street vendors in traditional attire are famed for their antics while selling Dondurma from their carts. They wave and swing their long metal paddles offering the audience a taste, while intermittently beating and twisting the ice cream till it becomes like a long silky rope. In Turkey, ice cream is referred as Kahraman Maras (or icecream of the Maras region), alluding to its origins from a Maras summer drink called karsambac that an enterprising goat farmer combined with salep and goat's milk to arrive at the Maras Dondurma.

Dondurma is also available through retail brands and at sit in restaurants. Some of the well-known places you can buy a good Dondurma include :

1. Girandola: Has two outlets one at Arnavutkoy (next to Bodrum restaurant) and another Bağdat Caddesi

2. Mado Cafes all around town and its parent company Yasar Pastanesi.

3. Dondurmacı Ali Usta: Located at Sile, which often has long queues.

4. Bitez Dondurmacısı: Located at Bakırköy

5. Dondurmacci: Located at Caddebostan even offers floral flavours like lavender.

For us however, the street vendor weaving magic with his paddle offered the best experience of eating authentic dondurma.