Karsambac

The first ice cream named as Karsambac and made by mixing molasses and fruit extracts with snow accumulated in the slopes of mountains and valley by Anatolia people 300 years ago. Today, Karsambac is prepared by adding sweet syrup on clean snow and ice grated as a traditional dessert specific to South cities. It is frequently seen in regions known as upland culture. If it is eaten in times when city lives spring and severe climate is lived in high upland, an interesting conflict appears.

Preparation and Presentation

Karsambac has two basic materials: ice and syrup. Ice can be obtained by grating from a big mold and clean snow can be collected. Sweet syrup is passed on snow filled in a bowl as single portion. Mint leaf or sugar can be added on it as trim.

Thing that needs to be paid attention while collecting snow is to strip and dispose the top layer of snow. So parts that dust and other particles in air contact are disposed. Snow not contacting with air for a long time at the bottom is collected via oar or spoon. To make sure that snow has not contacted with waters on the ground, soil and grasses, it should be noticed that snow is dry and white at each plowing.

Ice filled in a bowl to the brim is ready for syrup. Very different sweet mixtures may be used here. Followings are types seen frequently.

• Molasses is the most common karsambac syrup.
• Cornelian cherry syrup, Karsambac made with it is plain.
• It is prepared with sprinkling syrups increasing at the bottom of fermented grape juice such as angel’s hair and syrup desserts such as baklava, multi flaked pastry with cream and pistachio filling. Especially light taste of dessert of syrups waiting for some time with dessert creates a different karsambac.
• Juices, all types of thick juice extract prepared with different fruit.

Karsambac in the world kitchen

A dessert resembling Karsambac very much is made in Luisiana state of America. Sugar cane is added to the snow collected cleanly. Ice cream materials such as vanilla, milk and sugar or scrambled egg white can be added to some preparation types. This dessert is called snow ice cream.

Tire d’érable made in Canadian kitchen is a similar dessert made with use of snow. Silver birch syrup is boiled and becomes viscous slightly. This syrup is poured in clean snow and gets frozen fast and caramel like texture is provided. Its difference from karsambac is that syrup frozen is pulled by a fork and can be serviced.

Sahlep

Generic name given to orchid types in Anatolia. Sahlep plant is a kind of orchide. It is derived from underground bulb of many species of “orchidacea” (orchids) family in Latin name. 24 species and 90 types orchids are included in this family. Most of these species and types grow themselves in Anatolia. But all types of this family is not proper for use as sahlep. Sahlep bulbs have mucilage, glucose and essential oil. The most important substance it consists is glicomannan. Since it swells when it is used with water and milk, it is used as ram material of ice cream widespread.

Sahlep bringing taste and odor to the known K.Maras ice cream is the one derived from an orchid species growing in Ahir Mountain and its surrounding in K.Maras. Sahlep is not only a drink warming up people. Due to its nutritional and palliative features for various ailments, it has been used for treatment and special nutrition regimes since very old ages. The most important reason for drinking in winter months is that it does good for cough and cold. It is known that physicians used to recommend it for patients being of diarrhea and some gall bladder diseases in old ages.

Goat’s milk

Goat’s milk accepted as the closest milk to human milk in terms of nutrition and mineral values is of more valuable and rareness feature since it gives less milk than other animals giving milk.

Protein rate being 1,6 % in human milk is 4,3 % in goat’s milk.

Goat’s milk is more proper for children and persons stomachs of whose are weak and sensitive, and digestion is easy. Allergic risk is less in goat’s milk. Goat’s milk calcium rate of which is high is the calcium source for tooth and bone development in children. It is the only milk close to human milk in terms of Vitamin A, phosphor, magnesium and selenium quantities.

Sliced Ice Cream

Ice cream material of which is special and prepared by beating by hand and with traditional methods and tools known with flexibility of gum consistency, hard to be eaten by cutting with knife and identifying with K.Maras.

Ahir Mountain

The mountain situated in the North west of city center that people in K.Maras expresses as plateau and being of 32 thousand 675 hectare area and rich and unique flora. There are endemic 122 plant species. 5 of them are specific to the mountain except some exceptions. Ahir Mountain is one of 9 pilot special plant area intended to be protected and being within the scope of Important plant areas voluntary communication network Project (OBANET) in Turkey conducted by society for the protection of nature (DHKD). Thing making K.Maras ice cream unique is the milk of goat fed in this mountain and use of sahlep derived from root of wild orchid specific to this mountain in ice cream.

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