Why Does Maraş Ice Cream Stretch? The Science of Salep, Goat's Milk and Beating

People who see Maraş ice cream for the first time are surprised as the master lifts it on the end of a long rod, stretches it like rope and slices it with a knife. Behind this behaviour lies not showmanship but food science. Three things set Maraş ice cream, a registered geographical indication, apart from other ice creams: salep, goat's milk and beating.

Salep: a natural thickener

Salep is a powder made from the tubers of certain wild orchid species. It is rich in a polysaccharide called glucomannan. Glucomannan binds water and forms long, flexible chains. In ice cream these chains limit the growth of ice crystals and give it that familiar chewy, stretchy texture. Salep also slows melting; even on a hot summer day, Maraş ice cream holds its shape on the plate for longer.

Goat's milk: aroma and fat balance

The traditional recipe uses goat's milk. Goat's milk has smaller fat globules than cow's milk and a distinctive light aroma. Milk from goats grazing on the pastures at the foot of Ahır Mountain is more aromatic in spring, thanks to thyme and mountain herbs. We work with the same three farms all year and get the milk into the vat no later than four hours after the morning milking.

Beating: increasing density, not air

In industrial ice cream, air is whipped into the mix during churning; this is called 'overrun' and in some ice creams it approaches half the volume. With Maraş ice cream the aim is the opposite. As the ice cream cools it is beaten with long-handled paddles; this drives out the air, aligns the salep chains and makes the texture denser. The result is a dense, elastic ice cream where a litre weighs about a kilogram.

Why cut it with a knife?

A dense, elastic texture resists being scooped with a spoon. So in Maraş ice cream is sliced with a knife and eaten on a plate with a knife and fork. Leaving the block for 8–10 minutes after taking it out of the freezer and dipping the knife in hot water make cutting easier.

The meaning of the show

When the master stretches the ice cream, lifts it like a sword or snatches the cone away from the customer, it is a game but also proof of quality: without enough salep and proper beating, ice cream would not survive these moves; it would snap or fall.

Beware of imitations

Pure salep is expensive and limited. That is why you will find 'Maraş-style' ice creams on the market made with other thickeners instead of salep. You can recognise real Maraş ice cream from the ingredients list on the label: milk, sugar and salep. The Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Ice Cream and the Labelling Regulation require every ingredient used to be listed on the label.