This Booza-Inspired Ice Cream features the stretchiness and floral flavor seen in Booza with ingredients that are easy to find in North America.
A couple of years ago, my family bought ourselves a Ninja Creami ice cream maker. The fact that a large bowl to freeze the ice cream (which takes up precious freezer space) was not required intrigued me, and I've loved experimenting with it ever since.
I've made dozens of varieties of ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Some have worked out wonderfully, and some have not (my family will never let me forget the pistachio ice cream that somehow came out smelling like farts).
But what I'd really been wanting to try was booza. I'd first heard of booza around a year ago, and the photos and videos I saw of it stretching really intrigued me. I found out a local ice cream shop served it, and I jumped at the opportunity to try it when my son chose to go to that particular ice cream shop instead of having a birthday cake.
I loved it! The flavors and the texture were both so great that I knew immediately that I wanted to try making it for myself. But I also knew that the traditional ingredients were not easy to find locally, and expensive to buy online. So I decided to make a similar version without these ingredients, and after many tries, I was happy with the result.
What is Booza?
Booza is a Middle Eastern ice cream that is made with mastic (resin from a mastic tree) and sahlab (powdered orchid root). Both of these ingredients, as well as the procedure to make booza, give it its characteristic chewy, stretchy texture.
While booza can be made in any flavor, floral rose water or orange blossom water are common flavorings. It is also commonly garnished with chopped nuts, like pistachios.
How to make Booza-Inspired Ice Cream:
I tested this recipe many times - much more than any other recipe I have created recently. First I tested the different methods to make this booza-inspired ice cream.
I wanted to try a method that was more traditional to how booza is made - by periodically removing the booza from the freezer during the freezing process and "stretching" it with a spatula.
This method did not work for me. It was very labour intensive and required me to be present and make sure to be there at regular intervals for several hours. My ice cream in this test turned out rock-hard and not creamy or stretchy at all, so I decided to see how it would work in the Creami. This test worked out much better, and saved me a bunch of time.
I then decided to try various ingredient ratios. I tried more and less sugar, and varied the amounts of cornstarch. I ended up cutting back on sugar from my first batches, and after having success with just a little cornstarch, wanted to see if more was better (it was not).
So what I was left with was a recipe that had the perfect sweetness, with a perfect thick, creamy, slightly stretchy texture and delicious floral flavor, that's also easy to make.
Start by whisking the sugar and cornstarch together in a small or medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in the cream, ensuring that there are no lumps of cornstarch. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it reaches a pudding-like consistency. Remove from the heat and whisk in the rosewater or orange blossom water and vanilla.
If you're using a traditional ice cream maker, chill the mixture completely in the fridge. If you're using a Ninja Creami you can pour the mixture directly into two one-pint Creami containers and freeze until solid (24 hours).
Once chilled or frozen, follow the directions of your ice cream maker (I use the "Light Ice Cream" setting on my Creami, and re-spin if needed). Divide into small bowls and serve with chopped pistachios, if desired.
Booza-Inspired Ice Cream Ingredients:
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch
- Half and half cream
- Rose water or orange blossom water - Find rose water and orange blossom water in the international aisle of a well-stocked grocery store or in a Middle Eastern market. Alternatively, order it online.
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped pistachios - these are optional, to sprinkle over the ice cream as a garnish. Make sure the pistachios you use are unsalted or lightly salted.
Want more ice cream recipes?
Booza-Inspired Ice Cream Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for ⅛th of the recipe, which would be slightly more than ½ cup of ice cream, depending on how much air gets incorporated into the ice cream mixture during freezing. It does not include pistachios or any other toppings that might be added.
This recipe is gluten-free as written.
Booza Inspired Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 4 cups half and half cream
- 2 Tablespoons rose water or orange blossom water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- chopped pistachios to serve, optional
Instructions
- Whisk together ¾ cup (200 g) granulated sugar and ¼ cup (48 g) cornstarch in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in 4 cups (946 ml) half and half cream until smooth. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it thickens to a pudding-like consistency, and it just starts to bubble, 10-15 minutes, reducing the mixture if needed if you feel like anything is starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Pour into a heatproof bowl or container (preferably one that is also freezer-safe and has a secure lid). Whisk in 2 Tablespoons rose water, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Cover the mixture and place in the fridge to cool completely.
- Once the mixture has chilled, freeze it using an ice cream maker of your choice, following the manufacturer's directions.
Ninja Creami Directions:
- Complete step 1 of the recipe above as written. Once the mixture is done cooking, split the ice cream mixture into 2 pint-sized Ninja Creami containers. Cover the containers, and place them on a flat surface in the freezer to freeze completely (at least 24 hours). Place one of the containers in the Creami machine, and turn on the "Light Ice Cream" setting. Don't leave the machine unattended while it is blending. Add a re-spin if the ice cream looks "powdery" on the top after the initial blend (it probably won't). Divide into 2-4 bowls, and serve.
Nutrition
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