Alright, folks, gather ’round! Today, I’m spilling the beans on my adventure trying to make Maras Dondurma – that crazy Turkish ice cream that stretches and pulls like nobody’s business. I saw a video about it and thought, “Hey, I can do that!” Famous last words, right?
First up: Ingredients. I hit the store, grabbed milk, sugar, salep (the magical ingredient), and mastic. Finding salep was a mission! Had to go to a specialty spice shop for that. Mastic was easier, thankfully.
Got home, cracked open the cookbooks (and by cookbooks, I mean Google, let’s be honest), and started mixing. Boiled the milk and sugar like the recipe said. Then, the tricky part – adding the salep and mastic. You gotta be careful with salep, it clumps up if you’re not paying attention. Whisked like my life depended on it!
Next: Cooling. Poured the mixture into a bowl and stuck it in the fridge. The recipe said to chill it for a few hours, but I got impatient and checked it after like, one hour. Still liquidy! Back in the fridge it went.
After a few more hours (okay, maybe it was overnight), it was finally cold enough. Now, the fun begins! The recipe said to knead it. Yes, knead ice cream! Felt weird, but I went with it. Kneaded that sucker for a good 15-20 minutes, trying to get that stretchy texture. My arms were burning!
Freezing time! Transferred the kneaded mixture to a container and popped it in the freezer. The recipe suggested freezing it in stages, taking it out every hour or so to knead it again. I did this like twice, then got lazy. Sue me!
The moment of truth! After a few hours in the freezer, I pulled it out, grabbed a spoon, and…drumroll please… it was kind of stretchy! Not like the stuff you see in Turkey, but definitely more than regular ice cream. Tasted pretty good too! Creamy, with a hint of that unique salep flavor.
Lessons Learned:
- Salep is your friend, but also your enemy. Handle with care.
- Kneading ice cream is a workout. Consider it your arm day at the gym.
- Patience is key. Don’t rush the freezing process.
Would I make it again? Probably! It was a fun experiment, and the result was pretty darn tasty. Plus, I can now say I’ve kneaded ice cream. How many people can say that?
