Dondurma (Turkish Ice Cream with Pure Salep)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 645 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 6 servings
- Ingredients
- 3
About this dish
Pure salep powder thickens the milk, and seven rounds of freezing and folding build the dense, stretchy body of Turkish dondurma.
Read more
Instant salep drink mixes often contain sugar or starch and cannot stand in for the pure powder at this amount. The stove work is short, but cooling, the 30-minute freeze-and-scrape rounds and a long final freeze add up to more than half a day, so it is best started on a day spent at home.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Confirm that the salep label specifies pure powder.
Whisk the milk, sugar and salep together in a large saucepan.
- 2
Stir across the base over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
Reduce to the lowest heat and stir for another 15-20 minutes until slightly thicker than milk.
- 3
Transfer to a shallow heatproof metal container and cool quickly over an ice-water bath while stirring.
Cover and refrigerate until cold throughout; allow about 60 minutes for cooling and longer if still warm.
- 4
Place the cold mixture in a covered freezer-safe container and freeze for 30 minutes.
Scrape the icy edges into the center with a fork and fold for 2-3 minutes.
- 5
Repeat the 30-minute freeze and 2-3-minute mixing cycle 6 more times, for 7 mixing rounds total.
Work the firm edges back in each time until the mixture becomes thick and stretchy.
- 6
Cover and freeze for at least another 5 hours.
Remove about 15 minutes before serving and portion when soft enough to scoop.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- Dondurma (Turkish Ice Cream)
Give Recipe / Zerrin and Yusuf · Checked: 2026-09-07
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