Syrian Ice Cream
Ingredients
• 9 cups plus ¼ cup whole milk, divided
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 medium pieces (about ¼ teaspoon) mastic gum (also called Arabic gum)
• 2½ cups sugar
• 5 teaspoons sahlab
• ¾ teaspoon rose water
• Chopped pistachios, for serving
Preparation, according to an edible mosaic:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup milk with the sahlab; set aside.
2. Grind the mastic into a powder; the best way to do this is to put the mastic between 2 pieces of parchment paper or inside a plastic bag and pound it with a heavy object, such as a rolling pin.
3 . Add the remaining 9 cups of milk, the cream, and the mastic to a large pot over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
4 . Once boiling, slowly whisk in the sugar and bring back up to a boil, stirring constantly. Whisk in the sahlab mixture and boil vigorously 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the rose water.
5 . Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 to 6 hours.
6 . Transfer the chilled mixture to an ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturers directions.
7 . Once processed, put the ice cream in a freezer-safe bowl and transfer to the freezer to set.
8 . Serve topped with chopped pistachios.
L.Razzok