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Dairy Ice Cream with Mastic and Rose Water

This is a modern version of dondurma kaymakli without sahlab. Mastic and rose water give it an exotic allure. The mastic, a resin exuded from the lentisk tree, is sold in small, hard, translucent lumps, like crystals. It must be pounded or ground to a fine powder with a pestle and mortar, together with a pinch of sugar.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups light cream
1–2 tablespoons rose water, to taste
1/4 teaspoon pulverized mastic
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Beat the egg yolks and sugar to a thick, pale cream in a bowl. Bring the light cream to the boil and gradually pour over the yolk mixture, beating all the time.

    Step 2

    Put the bowl in a pan of boiling water, or in the top of a double boiler, and stir or lightly beat until the mixture thickens into a custard. Add the rose water, sprinkle the mastic over the whole surface (if it falls in one place, it will stick together in a lump), and stir thoroughly.

    Step 3

    Beat the heavy cream until firm and fold it into the cooled custard.

    Step 4

    Pour into a mold lined with plastic wrap and cover with more plastic wrap. Freeze overnight. Take out of the freezer 10–15 minutes before serving.

  2. Variation

    Step 5

    You can cheat and use store-bought dairy ice cream. Leave to soften slightly, and gently mix in the flavorings (some ice creams collapse if you beat vigorously or blend in a food processor), then put back into the freezer.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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