Booza

Middle Eastern frozen dairy dessert From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Booza (Arabic: بُوظَة, romanized: Būẓah, lit.'ice cream') is a frozen dairy dessert. It is traditionally made through a process of pounding[3] and stretching in a freezer drum, instead of the more usual churning method used in other ice creams, leading to a creamy yet dense texture.[4][5][6] Orange flower water[7] or rose water are sometimes added for flavoring.[1] The firmness of booza allows it to be shaped into a roll, which is a popular traditional serving method.[8][2]

Serving temperatureCold[1]
Main ingredientsSahlab, mastic[1]
Ingredients generallyusedqishta[2]
Quick facts Type, Serving temperature ...
Booza
Booza being sold in the landmark Bakdash ice cream shop in the Al-Hamidiyah Souq in the Old City of Damascus (2009)
TypeIce cream
Serving temperatureCold[1]
Main ingredientsSahlab, mastic[1]
Ingredients generally usedqishta[2]
  •   Media: Booza
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A dish of booza topped with pistachios served at the Bakdash ice cream shop in Damascus

History

Author Mary Isin [tr] dates booza back to the 15th century in the Levant region.[2] It's thought to share an origin with the Turkish dondurma.[9]

Geographic scope

Damascus

In Al-Hamidiyah Souq in the Old City of Damascus, there is an ice cream store named Bakdash that is known throughout the Arab world for its stretchy and chewy ice cream. It is a popular attraction for tourists as well.[10][1]

International usage

A brother and sister team (Jilbert El-Zmetr and Tedy Altree-Williams) pioneered and created the first packaged version of booza in Australia in 2011. Using local ingredients together with sahlab and mastic (from the island of Chios, Greece), they recreated the traditional form of booza and packaged this in a take-home format available to consumers.[11]

In 2018, a booza scoop-shop named Republic of Booza was opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, US, by Tamer Rabbani and Michael Sadler.[3][12]

Booza vendors can be found outside the Levant region in areas like the Bay Area, US,[7] and Sydney, Australia.[13]

See also

References

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