Gather round everyone, of course while staying 6 feet apart please, I bring you Milk Ice Cream Booza. This Lebanese take on ice cream is full of fragrant flavor and will take you back to the days without any worries.
I haven’t seen you in a while and I’m proud of you. You’re staying home, avoiding crowds and constantly washing your hands. In fact, you’re washing them so well, your hands have never been so dry! You’re altering your daily life, around this new social distancing situation, and bravely fighting every last urge to touch that beautiful face of yours.
We’re all going through our own hardships but who knew we all loved touching our faces so much, #amiright?
Nothing can distract our minds and hands more effectively than the all amazing Booza!
So what is this Booza?!
To me, Booza is made up of beautiful memories filled with sunny days and aromatic Mediterranean sea breezes. It takes me back to scenic summers with long days and endless adventures.
Booza is an Arabic ice cream. It distinguishes itself from other ice creams by its stretchy consistency and fragrant refreshing taste. In Lebanon, my favorite was ‘Mshakal’, a variety of colorful vibrant flavors scooped on top of each other in a rectangular shaped ‘cone’.
Milk Ice Cream Booza consists of Sahlab (orchid root flour), Mastic (a plant resin) which are added to milk, cream, corn starch, sugar, vanilla and fragrant rose water.
Milk Ice Cream Booza is everything I love about this current life situation. I scream, you scream, the whole quarantined world screams for this Booza Ice Cream! I hope you love it as much as I do. Stay safe, stop touching that face and take care of yourself.
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Milk Ice Cream Booza
Description
Milk Ice Cream Booza is full of fragrant flavor and will take you back to the days without any worries.
This recipe was adapted from Hadia’s Lebanese Cuisine’s recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 grams Mastic granules
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Sahlab powder
- 1 tablespoon rosewater
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Raw pistachios, crushed (optional)
Instructions
- With a mortar and pestle, gently crush the Mastic granules with a bit of sugar. The desired consistency should be very fine (see notes below.
- In a medium saucepan, add the powdered milk, water, heavy cream, crushed mastic, sugar, cornstarch and Sahlab powder. Over medium heat, whisk continuously and bring to a gentle boil. This should take about 15 minutes. The mixture should be thickened a bit. Make sure you watch closely so mixture doesn’t overflow.
- Remove from heat, add the rosewater, vanilla extract, stir well and set aside to cool down completely.
- Place a piece of wax paper on top of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Thoroughly whisk the refrigerated mixture, transfer to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. This should take about 30 minutes.
- Add to an ice cream container and freeze for a minimum of 5 hours or overnight.
- When serving, sprinkle some crushed raw pistachios on top of the ice cream, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
- Grinding the Mastic: Add a bit of sugar to the Mastic granules and crush them in a pestle and mortar. You want a fine powdery consistency, not a sticky mess. Adding sugar to them while crushing with a pestle and mortar is key to ensure that they don’t stick. If they form a thin sticky layer at the bottom, separate them with your fingers as you would when sprinkling a pinch of sugar by hand.
- Ice Cream Maker: Ensure to leave the ice cream tub in the freezer a day before making the ice cream, according to manufacturer’s instructions. Also, ensure you turn it on prior to pouring in the mixture from step#5 per the manufacturer’s instructions.
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This is the best ice cream I have ever made! We love it. The kids love it. My husband loves it. It is definitely time-consuming but it is SO WORTH IT. I used the kitchen aid ice cream bucket. It was super creamy and scoops easily. Thank you!
Great to hear that you ALL loved it. Enjoy!
Great recipe, it has the taste of real booza!
Unfortunately mine has a bitter aftertaste, any explanation as to what went wrong?
Hi Shaima. I’m happy that you noticed the booza taste that differs from ordinary ice cream. As for the bitter aftertaste, it is very likely related to possibly using too much mastic. It is possible that the mastic you have is so potent/strong. Consider reducing the quantity in half or more. The other less likely reason is adding the rose water during or before boiling. It should be added only after removing the mixture from the heat.