By the way, since ‘Stretchy Turkish Ice Cream’ is a handful, it is called ‘Dondurma’. It is a form of gelato, but stretchier, and with a different flavour set. The city of Maraş is famous for it.

Important to note that native speakers would refer to the stretchy ice cream as "dovme dondurma", which roughly translates to "beaten ice cream".

The distinction seems to be: > Two qualities distinguish Turkish ice cream: hard texture and resistance to melting, brought about by inclusion of the thickening agents salep, a flour made from the root of the early purple orchid, and mastic, a resin that imparts chewiness.[citation needed]

> The Kahramanmaraş region is known for maraş dondurması, a variety which contains distinctly more salep than usual. Tough and sticky, it is sometimes eaten with a knife and fork.[citation needed]

Could have sworn that HN had an article a while back about Japanese icecream that had similar additives, for the purpose to slow the melting.

I'm a native speaker, I think it depends on the region. But yeah, "dövme dondurma" is more specific. The part I'm from did not make the distinction, however.

The requisite starch for dondurma (Turkish ice cream) is banned from export, due to the rarity of the orchids that produce it (also slow growth and very low yields). I'd be surprised if anyone regularly makes dondurma in the US.

I tried that in Turkey and it was really meh. Probably I was was way too deep in a touristy area and got the worst quality possible, but there is something about the taste of the things that make it chewy that covers the actual flavour: the pink, brown and white ones tasted all kinda the same. I'll ask for suggestions to some local friend and try again.

next time try with baklava :)

Yeah, and I've been seeing bulgogi marinade in mainstream Bay Area supermarkets. I use it for everything. Which reminds me that I need to call my grandparents...

I think Trader Joe's has a heat-n-eat pre-marinated vacuum pack, too.