View source for Booza

{{short description|Middle Eastern frozen dairy dessert}}
{{About|the dessert|the beverage|Boza}}
<!-- Please do not remove or change this AfD message until the discussion has been closed. -->
{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Booza|timestamp=20260617155617|year=2026|month=June|day=17|substed=yes|help=off|outcome=merging|target=dondurma}}
<!-- Once discussion is closed, please place on talk page: {{Old AfD multi|page=Booza|date=17 June 2026|result='''keep'''}} -->
<!-- End of AfD message, feel free to edit beyond this point -->
{{Infobox food
| name               = Booza
| image              = Bakdash ice-cream shop in the old souk in Damascus.jpg
| caption            = Booza being sold in the landmark [[Bakdash (ice cream parlor)|Bakdash]] ice cream shop in the [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]] in the [[Ancient City of Damascus|Old City]] of [[Damascus]] (2009)
| alternate_name     = 
| creator            = 
| course             = 
| type               = [[Ice cream]]
| served             = Cold<ref name="newyorker" />
| main_ingredient    = [[Sahlab]], [[Mastic (plant resin)|mastic]]<ref name="newyorker" />
| minor_ingredient   = [[qishta]]<ref name="londonMuseum" />
| variations         = 
| calories           = 
| other              = 
}}
[[File:Bakdash Icecream (2789962718).jpg|thumb|A dish of booza topped with pistachios served at the [[Bakdash (ice cream parlor)|Bakdash]] ice cream shop in [[Damascus]]|alt=]]
'''''Booza''''' ({{langx|ar|بُوظَة|Būẓah|lit=ice cream}}) is a frozen dairy dessert. It is traditionally made through a process of pounding<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/dining/ice-cream-republic-of-booza.html|title=Move Over Soft Serve, There's a New Ice Cream in Town|last=Fabricant|first=Florence|date=2018-06-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101173137/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/dining/ice-cream-republic-of-booza.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and stretching in a freezer drum, instead of the more usual churning method used in other ice creams, leading to a creamy yet dense texture.<ref>{{Citation|title=This ice cream stretches like gum - CNN Video|date=30 August 2018|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/foodanddrink/2018/08/29/nyc-ice-cream-orig.cnn|access-date=2019-05-07|archive-date=2021-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205072027/https://www.cnn.com/videos/foodanddrink/2018/08/29/nyc-ice-cream-orig.cnn|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.republicofbooza.com/what-is-booza|title=WHAT IS BOOZA?|website=REPUBLIC OF BOOZA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-07|archive-date=2019-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507202042/https://www.republicofbooza.com/what-is-booza|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/republic-of-booza-ice-cream-brooklyn |title=Traditional Booza Ice Cream Debuts in Brooklyn |date=27 June 2018 |work=Michelin |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203200439/https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/republic-of-booza-ice-cream-brooklyn |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Orange flower water]]<ref name="sfc" /> or [[rose water]] are sometimes added for flavoring.<ref name="newyorker" /> The firmness of booza allows it to be shaped into a roll, which is a popular traditional serving method.<ref>{{cite news |title=Refugee shares a taste of homeland by creating business selling traditional Syrian ice cream 'bakdash' |url=https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2020/08/19/refugee-shares-a-taste-of-homeland-by-creating-business-selling-traditional-syrian-ice-cream-bakdash-2649375/ |access-date=30 October 2025 |work=CityNews Ottawa |date=19 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="londonMuseum" />

==History==

Author {{ill|Mary Isin|tr|Priscilla Mary Işın}} dates ''booza'' back to the 15th century in the [[Levant]] region.<ref name="londonMuseum">{{cite news |last1=Vicars |first1=Natasha |title=Syrian booza in London: A Damascene ice cream made with soul |url=https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/blog/syrian-booza-in-london-a-damascene-ice-cream-made-with-soul |access-date=2 September 2025 |work=[[London Museum]] |date=12 Jul 2023 |language=en-gb}}</ref> It's thought to share an origin with the Turkish [[dondurma]].<ref name="fortune2020">{{cite news |last1=Rahmanan |first1=Anna Ben Yehuda |title=Meet the Middle Eastern ice cream poised to swarm social media |url=https://fortune.com/2020/02/22/syrian-ice-cream-booza/ |access-date=29 December 2025 |work=Fortune |date=February 22, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Geographic scope==

===Damascus===
In [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]] in the Old City of [[Damascus]], there is an ice cream store named [[Bakdash (ice cream parlor)|Bakdash]] that is known throughout the Arab world for its stretchy and chewy ice cream. It is a popular attraction for tourists as well.<ref>{{cite news |last=Amos |first=Deborah |date=2013-05-04 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/05/04/180927899/as-syria-melts-down-ice-cream-shop-sets-up-in-jordan |title=As Syria Melts Down, Ice Cream Shop Sets Up In Jordan |website=National Public Radio |access-date=22 July 2018 |archive-date=2019-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624211743/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/05/04/180927899/as-syria-melts-down-ice-cream-shop-sets-up-in-jordan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="newyorker">{{cite news |last1=Arellano |first1=Gustavo |title=The Syrian Baker Who’s Bringing the Middle East’s Most Famous Ice Cream to California |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-syrian-baker-whos-bringing-the-middle-easts-most-famous-ice-cream-to-california |access-date=26 August 2025 |work=The New Yorker |date=5 February 2018}}</ref>

===International usage===
A brother and sister team (Jilbert El-Zmetr and Tedy Altree-Williams) pioneered and created the first packaged version of ''booza'' in Australia in 2011. Using local ingredients together with [[Salep|sahlab]] and [[Mastic (plant resin)|mastic]] (from the island of Chios, Greece), they recreated the traditional form of ''booza'' and packaged this in a take-home format available to consumers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bring on the booza|date=24 October 2011|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/bring-on-the-booza-20111022-1md3x.html|access-date=24 April 2018|archive-date=24 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624211742/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/bring-on-the-booza-20111022-1md3x.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, a ''booza'' scoop-shop named Republic of Booza was opened in [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn]], US, by Tamer Rabbani and Michael Sadler.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Traditional Booza Ice Cream Debuts in Brooklyn |url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/republic-of-booza-ice-cream-brooklyn |website=MICHELIN Guide |language=en-US |access-date=2020-05-07 |archive-date=2020-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203200439/https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/republic-of-booza-ice-cream-brooklyn |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Booza'' vendors can be found outside the [[Levant]] region in areas like the [[Bay Area]], US,<ref name="sfc">{{cite news |title=A stretchy, hard-to-find ice cream arrives in the Bay Area |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/roast-toast-ice-cream-berkeley-20350172.php |access-date=31 August 2025 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=5 June 2025}}</ref> and [[Sydney]], Australia.<ref name="goodfood">{{cite news |last1=Hrovat |first1=Bianca |title=The stretchy ice-cream from Tripoli that Concord locals are queueing for |url=https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/sydney-eating-out/the-stretchy-ice-cream-from-tripoli-that-concord-locals-are-queueing-for-20250206-p5la0w.html |access-date=31 August 2025 |work=Good Food |date=7 February 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of dairy products]]
* [[List of ice cream varieties by country]]

{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Ice cream}}
{{Levantine cuisine}}

[[Category:Mastic ice creams]]
[[Category:Levantine cuisine]]
{{⚠️🚨COPIED from EverybodyWiki ❗❕⚠️😡😤Please respect Licence CC-BY-SA ❗}}
{{Source Wikipedia}}