A visit to Istanbul might lead to an encounter with street food vendors selling a particular kind of ice cream that’s little known in the United States. Instead of a soft dairy globe, this unique ice cream called booza can be pulled and stretched like saltwater taffy. The stretchy component creates an unusual textural experience as well — a toothsome sort of chew. This special ice cream can now be found at Sham Sweets in Sacramento, one of only five places in America to offer the authentic treat.
The shop owner, Ayman Alkabani, is from Homs, Syria. In 2012, he fled war-torn Syria to Turkey with his extended family. Four years later, he brought his wife and children to Sacramento for its more affordable cost of living in California. Alkabani represents the fourth generation of a family of pastry makers. Thanks to his family reputation for fine sweets in Syria, catering jobs and other cooking opportunities prevailed, allowing him to open his own shop there in 2018. Customers began flocking to his Sacramento establishment after making the connection to his family’s beloved business in Syria. Here in California, he continues the tradition of selling booza, the Arabic word for ice cream.
Upon entering his shop, which is located on Fulton Avenue, visitors see beautiful trays of Turkish delight, baklava, künefe, cookies, and booza in the freezer case. While selling primarily sweets, Alkabani notes that he is versed in preparing Middle Eastern savory dishes like kibbeh, falafel, and maqlouba as well. It’s the rare booza, though, that garners special attention for its mesmerizing stretchiness. Yes, this ice cream can truly be stretched. To do so requires one important ingredient: sahlep. Sahlep comes from the powderized root of certain orchids.
This flavorless ingredient has a thickening property that is more powerful than cornstarch, which is often substituted or sold as counterfeit sahlep. For many years, sahlep couldn’t be found outside of the Middle East because the number of orchid varieties and plants has declined. Exports of the ingredient from Turkey are limited, but it’s also being cultivated in countries like Iran. Sahlep is difficult to acquire in the U.S., but Alkabani says he found a distributor in San Diego.
Alkabani had tried to make scoopable booza for a while, but it just wasn’t selling well. For now, he makes rolls of booza coated with bright green Turkish pistachios. Most of the time he has the traditional ashta (sweet cream with rose water), but sometimes he offers chocolate as well. While not as visually spectacular as seeing a vendor scoop, pull, and stretch the ice cream, the rolls still have the same texture and “chew” to them. The sahlep makes the ice cream freeze harder than western ice cream, meaning it must be left out of the freezer for five to 10 minutes to thaw a bit before cutting or stretching it. Alkabani sells his booza and other treats by weight.
