Chewy Ice Cream
Ice cream weather has arrived in my town.
There are basically two classes of Turkish ice cream. When the weather starts getting warmer ittle shops in every neighborhood roll a freezer out to the sidewalk with a tall sign advertising the kind of ice cream they have. The freezers usually contain a variety of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, little sundae cups, and other forms of ice-cream-on-a-stick. This is the more "modern" kind of ice cream recognizable around the world.
The king of this type of ice cream is the Magnum, which is also available in many other parts of the world. It is chocolate covered, vanilla ice cream on a stick, which sometimes comes with nuts, caramel, or white chocolate. The Magnum is so good, in fact, that my first Magnum of the year is something of a ceremony. The almond-covered Magnum is a good choice.
The other, more traditional, kind of Turkish ice-cream comes from Kahraman Maras in the east of Turkey. The ice-cream contains a natural kind of gum and is beaten and beaten so that it becomes thick and a little chewy, so it doesn't melt as easily. As much as I like Magnums, I would usually choose a cone of this kind of ice cream any day.
This "Maras" ice cream is often served from the sidewalk outside of pastry-shops and restaurants. The presentation and service of this kind of ice cream comes with its own traditional ceremony. It is stored in tall wooden coolers which the server stands behind, usually wearing a traditional Ottoman-style vest with red and gold, and a maroon fez. The server often bangs a set of cow bells hanging near the cooler to get the attention of potential customers. The ice cream is served with a very long metal scoop, and as it is served it traditionally comes with an elaborate show of tossing ice cream around, flipping cones, and tricking the customer into grabbing empty cones, etc. A good ice cream show is very impressive.
Maras ice cream is so thick and chewy that it sticks to the scoop and the cone, and the server will often pull out the entire batch of ice cream onto the scoop, or even hang it on a hook as part of the show.
If you come visit us during the summer, I promise to buy you a cone.
There are basically two classes of Turkish ice cream. When the weather starts getting warmer ittle shops in every neighborhood roll a freezer out to the sidewalk with a tall sign advertising the kind of ice cream they have. The freezers usually contain a variety of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, little sundae cups, and other forms of ice-cream-on-a-stick. This is the more "modern" kind of ice cream recognizable around the world.
The king of this type of ice cream is the Magnum, which is also available in many other parts of the world. It is chocolate covered, vanilla ice cream on a stick, which sometimes comes with nuts, caramel, or white chocolate. The Magnum is so good, in fact, that my first Magnum of the year is something of a ceremony. The almond-covered Magnum is a good choice.The other, more traditional, kind of Turkish ice-cream comes from Kahraman Maras in the east of Turkey. The ice-cream contains a natural kind of gum and is beaten and beaten so that it becomes thick and a little chewy, so it doesn't melt as easily. As much as I like Magnums, I would usually choose a cone of this kind of ice cream any day.
This "Maras" ice cream is often served from the sidewalk outside of pastry-shops and restaurants. The presentation and service of this kind of ice cream comes with its own traditional ceremony. It is stored in tall wooden coolers which the server stands behind, usually wearing a traditional Ottoman-style vest with red and gold, and a maroon fez. The server often bangs a set of cow bells hanging near the cooler to get the attention of potential customers. The ice cream is served with a very long metal scoop, and as it is served it traditionally comes with an elaborate show of tossing ice cream around, flipping cones, and tricking the customer into grabbing empty cones, etc. A good ice cream show is very impressive.
Maras ice cream is so thick and chewy that it sticks to the scoop and the cone, and the server will often pull out the entire batch of ice cream onto the scoop, or even hang it on a hook as part of the show.
This kind of ice cream is also served in restaurants, including Mado, a somewhat upper-class upgrade to the traditional Maras ice cream. At Mado you can buy "kesme" ice cream, which means ice cream that needs to be cut with a knife. Their special deep freezing technique also means that you can take a package of ice cream on a long trip (up to 2 days I think) and not worry about it melting on the way.
If you come visit us during the summer, I promise to buy you a cone.
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