Palestine's unique stretchy ice cream [video](bbc.com)
bbc.com
Palestine's unique stretchy ice cream [video]
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180815-palestines-secret-stretchy-ice-cream
34 comments
Interesting. That's probably where modern Hebrew takes its word for chewing gum: מסטיקים / "mastikim".
Probably goes back to where the tree got its name, the Greek word, mastikhan, which means grind your teeth, and is the root for the English word masticate.
According to my favorite Armenian language-researcher[1] it descends from the so-called Proto-Indo-European language. Greek "mastíχi μαστίχη" meaning "gum plant" (?) comes from the same theoretical root. Turkish then apparently took it from the Greek as "mastika", which is a natural gum. There are various deserts made in Turkey with "sakız". Most famous of which is "Sakızlı Muhallebi" [2].
[1]: (Turkish) http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=mastika&lnk=1
[2]: https://ozlemsturkishtable.com/2012/09/milk-pudding-with-mas...
[1]: (Turkish) http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=mastika&lnk=1
[2]: https://ozlemsturkishtable.com/2012/09/milk-pudding-with-mas...
It also makes a nice liqueur: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastika
I discovered it (the skinos brand) in greece this summer (Halkidiki-sithonia : magnificent beaches), just with an ice cube. Very unusual smell (reminiscent of pine trees) and very nice taste. I am still to find someone who dislikes it.
There's also a similar stretchy ice cream in Turkey called dondurma. It uses both mastic and salep, a flour made from orchid tubers.
I've had it in Aleppo too, though that's about as notable as seeing a San Francisco chain store in LA.
Dondurma just means "ice cream". What you mean is "Maraş Ice Cream" (Maraş Dondurması). It takes a lot of patience to get it from a traditional shop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYNhiv5FJ9Q
There's an ice cream shop of this style in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (because of course there is) if anyone wants to try it out first hand. It's called Republic of Booza.
It was worth it for the experience but I prefer normal ice cream better. The texture is ... unusual.
It was worth it for the experience but I prefer normal ice cream better. The texture is ... unusual.
Gum-added ice cream is something you can find around Aegean Sea -Turkish or Greek coast-. Especially around Chios and Izmir it is quite common and tasty, so you can try that out without going all the way to Palestine ;)
Also popular as "Maraş Ice Cream" in Turkey:
https://www.google.de/search?q=mara%C5%9F+dondurmas%C4%B1&tb...
It is of middle-east origin, as far as I can tell. It also comes with its traditional show, as you can see in the videos.
https://www.google.de/search?q=mara%C5%9F+dondurmas%C4%B1&tb...
It is of middle-east origin, as far as I can tell. It also comes with its traditional show, as you can see in the videos.
Gum Ice cream like Booza (iirc the oldest "ice-cream" in the world) or Dondurma Maras is prevelant all around the region it's common in Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and the entire Levant and Aegean region.
Not into politics, but what is the point? I neither understand BBC nor HN to publish a story like this one?
It's notorious that Ramallah has shops like and other city, so in Israel, and people have normal life here.
Just 2 month ago I got a interview for a company (freightos) which has both branch in jerusalem (west) and ramallah, so I suppose that people success to get their things together somehow?
Unrelated, but am I the only one surprised that bbc.com is not not served over https?
Not surprised at all, especially since the news site has only recently made the switch to https https://medium.com/bbc-design-engineering/bbc-news-on-https-...
Random observation: I'm always fascinated by how poverty and development can co-exist in a lot of places on earth. During conflicts between Israel and Palestine, you always see photos of the insides of Palestinian hospitals and the lack of sanitation and equipment is heartbreaking. But then this ice-cream shop has high tech equipment, high sanitation standards, and a seemingly relatively wealthy client base. And the street looks like it could be any street from any other relatively stable, developed nation in that area.
I suppose it's also all a matter of the point that the media are trying to make with the article... A travel article is going to highlight the cool parts, while an article on the horrors of war is going to focus on the disasters.
I suppose it's also all a matter of the point that the media are trying to make with the article... A travel article is going to highlight the cool parts, while an article on the horrors of war is going to focus on the disasters.
You are mixing the Gaza strip with Ramallah, which is where this ice cream shop is.
Ramallah is actually a pretty developed and secular city in the west bank.
Ramallah is actually a pretty developed and secular city in the west bank.
Interesting. I knew Gaza and the West Bank were geographically separate, but I didn't know conditions on the ground were so different. Thanks!
Ramallah in particular is a very westernized, modernized city. To illustrate, the city has KFC branches (which no city in Israel has), and coffee downtown can run you $6 (compared to $1 in cities like Nablus).
KFC failed in Israel as the recipe without dairy didn't pan out and the franchise holders didn't want to run a non-Kosher restaurant while McDonalnd's didn't care.
KFC is hugely popular in the Arab world in general but fried chicken never really became popular in Israel with or without buttermilk.
Starbucks also failed in Israel since apparently the locals being used to actual coffee didn't not accept what they sold as coffee while "high-end" Israeli coffee chains like Aroma Coffee became hugely successful in Israel and expanded abroad.
KFC is hugely popular in the Arab world in general but fried chicken never really became popular in Israel with or without buttermilk.
Starbucks also failed in Israel since apparently the locals being used to actual coffee didn't not accept what they sold as coffee while "high-end" Israeli coffee chains like Aroma Coffee became hugely successful in Israel and expanded abroad.
I remember in the late 90s going to the KFC in the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall section of Jerusalem. It was cute, but I didn't find it to be particularly special. perhaps now I understand why.
Apparently there's a thriving startup scene in Ramallah:
https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/04/404-not-found-how-silicon...
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Well, the ice cream shop has Israeli clientele, while the hospitals mainly service people the Israelis have marked for death.
Any israeli who goes there is risking his life - being injured and killed by an angry mob after taking a wrong turn is not unheard of. Israeli hospitals, on the other hand, routinely have patients both from Gaza and PA territories, not excluding Hamas leader's family members.
This is a misrepresentation.
Human rights activists, lawyers, etc, who oppose the occupation are welcomed into the West Bank. I've experienced that first hand.
The violence comes from the occupation forces - settlers, army, blockades, economic and politican control...
I've been told by so many fellow Israelis this myth about 'taking the wrong turn' in the West Bank, and, frankly it's a myth that hides the real problem, which is the occupation.
I had a similar icecream in Istanbul, and it was delicious. Thank to the OP for sharing.
Human rights activists, lawyers, etc, who oppose the occupation are welcomed into the West Bank. I've experienced that first hand.
The violence comes from the occupation forces - settlers, army, blockades, economic and politican control...
I've been told by so many fellow Israelis this myth about 'taking the wrong turn' in the West Bank, and, frankly it's a myth that hides the real problem, which is the occupation.
I had a similar icecream in Istanbul, and it was delicious. Thank to the OP for sharing.
It's not exactly a misrepresentation since the "wrong turn" happens fairly often, usually the Palestinian Police would stop the mob and escort them out, but there have been fatalities.
And assigning violence to the occupation is simply naive considering the past 150 years, when the west bank was under Jordanian control there was still plenty of violence, before the formation of Israel there was plenty of violence and pogroms in the area even before the end of WWI and the British Mandate like those during the multiple Arab revolts under Turkish rule.
And assigning violence to the occupation is simply naive considering the past 150 years, when the west bank was under Jordanian control there was still plenty of violence, before the formation of Israel there was plenty of violence and pogroms in the area even before the end of WWI and the British Mandate like those during the multiple Arab revolts under Turkish rule.
> under Turkish rule
You mean Ottoman. Ottomans are usually considered Turkish but Turks weren't even the biggest group that lived under the Ottoman rule.
You mean Ottoman. Ottomans are usually considered Turkish but Turks weren't even the biggest group that lived under the Ottoman rule.
Technically correct, but in Europe the Ottoman Empire was called the Turkish Empire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire
> I've been told by so many fellow Israelis this myth about 'taking the wrong turn' in the West Bank, and, frankly it's a myth that hides the real problem, which is the occupation.
So, you're not actually a local, but you think that you know better about what's a myth and what's not? I shouldn't be surprised.
So, you're not actually a local, but you think that you know better about what's a myth and what's not? I shouldn't be surprised.
How can you tell if someone is a lawyer, or pro settlement? Do you have to wear an armband?
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Mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus). In pharmacies and nature shops, it is called "Arabic gum" (not to be confused with gum arabic) and "Yemen gum". In Greece, it is known as the "tears of Chios," being traditionally produced on that Greek island, and, like other natural resins, is produced in "tears" or droplets.
Originally a sap, mastic is sun-dried into pieces of brittle, translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavor is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing, slightly pine or cedar-like flavor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastic_(plant_resin)