Dondurma is a traditional Turkish ice cream that differs from our European one primarily by its dense, chewy consistency and ability to resist melting even in the hot summer sun. It is a solid, elastic mass that resembles chilled dough rather than classic frozen cream in its structure.
Dondurma has its roots in southeastern Turkey, specifically in the city of Kahramanmaraş, from where its full name originates. The origin of dondurma is closely linked to regional ingredients and the need to preserve dairy products in a hot climate. What tourists perceive today as a fun street show, where the ice cream man (dondurmacı) throws the mass, stretches it, and doesn’t let the customer catch the cone, has a pragmatic basis. The ice cream is so stiff and sticky that the seller must constantly work with it and knead it with long metal rods to keep it pliable and manageable. The show is therefore not just theater for tourists, but a demonstration of the unique physical properties of this dessert. The ice cream man shows you that his product is genuine, sticks to the rod, and won’t fall even when upside down.
The secret of that specific “stretchy” consistency lies in two ingredients that you won’t find in ordinary ice cream. The first is salep. It is a flour obtained from the tubers of wild orchids, specifically the Orchis genus, which grow in the mountain regions of Turkey. It is salep that acts as a strong thickening agent, binding the liquid and creating that rubbery structure. The second essential component is mastic, a resin from the mastic tree. It gives the ice cream not only another degree of elasticity but primarily an unmistakable, slightly resinous aroma. Without these ingredients, dondurma would be just ordinary frozen milk.
Serving dondurma has two faces. The more famous one is street vending in a cone, accompanied by the ringing of bells and the joking of the seller in a traditional vest. The customer often has to “earn” their scoop by playing along with the game where the ice cream man hands over the cone and takes it back. The second, no less traditional form, is serving on a small plate in a pastry shop. Here, dondurma is so stiff that cutlery is automatically served with it. The ice cream, often sprinkled with crushed pistachios from the Gaziantep region, is literally cut with a knife and pierced with a fork.
I tasted this specialty right in the center of Istanbul, not far from the busy Istiklal Avenue. I stumbled upon a stall where a “real” Turk in a red-and-gold vest was performing incredible stunts with a long rod. For three scoops of honest, dense ice cream, I paid 75 TRY (4 EUR). By Turkish standards and street food, it is a relatively high amount, but in this case, you are also paying for the show, for the experience where you allow yourself to be teased for a while, and finally get the dessert in your hand.
It was great fun and I am glad I experienced it (once).
Bon appétit!
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