Mastic Ice Cream

A recipe for Mastic Ice Cream! This stretchy, eggless ice cream is flavored with mastic, orange blossom water, and pistachio.

Foodie Extravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient or theme from The Nibble into recipes to share with you.

This month, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is hosting and she invited bloggers to showcase creative ice cream.

Mastic Ice Cream

I am joining the event with a recipe for Mastic Ice Cream! Variations of Mastic Ice Cream can be found across the Eastern Mediterranean from Booza in the Levant to Dondurma in Türkiye and Kaimaki in Greece.

The version I am sharing today was inspired by An Edible Mosaic’s Éma’a (Syrian Ice Cream). The base of the ice cream comes together with a blend of milk, sugar, and heavy cream. Finely ground mastic gum is whisked in along with cornstarch to thicken and create a stretchy consistency without the use of eggs.

After removing from heat, orange blossom water is added before chilling and finally churning in an ice cream maker.

Either serve the Mastic Ice Cream immediately from the ice cream maker with a generous coating of finely chopped pistachios or freeze in an airtight container for up to a month. Bring to room temperature for about 10 minutes before enjoying to let the texture soften a bit.

Looking for more ice cream recipes?

Try my:

• Spaghettieis (German Spaghetti Ice Cream)
• Honey Peach Ice Cream
• Olive Oil Stracciatella Ice Cream

Notable Ingredients

Mastic (Mastiha, Mastic Gum, Mastic Resin) is an aromatic resin (hardened sap) from the mastic tree. In addition to its medicinal and cosmetic uses, it is also added to food for the elastic texture it produces and is popular as a chewing gum.

You can find Mastic in small jars in the form of tear-shaped crystals in Mediterranean/Middle Eastern markets.

Orange blossom water (orange flower water) is made by distilling fresh bitter orange flowers. It is often used in Middle Eastern and French cuisines to flavor cakes, pastries, and other desserts. It adds a floral and slightly bitter taste.

I have seen orange blossom water in the spice section of some larger supermarkets next to the extracts or in markets featuring Middle Eastern ingredients.

For those in Northern Virginia, I was able to find the mastic and orange blossom water at Cozmo One in Chantilly.

Mastic Ice Cream is traditionally thickened with Sahlab (Sahlep). Made from the tuber of the orchid genus, Orchis, this ground powder can be very difficult to find in the United States so I used cornstarch as a replacement.

A Few Mastic Ice Cream Tips

When grinding the mastic into a powder, it helps to add about 1/2 teaspoon sugar. I have also seen others mention to briefly freeze the mastic first to crush more easily.

Make sure the cornstarch is fully dissolved into the water before pouring into the simmering milk mixture.

As the liquid starts to thicken, continue to whisk- especially along the bottom and sides to prevent burning.

I have made this Mastic Ice Cream with both orange blossom water and rose water. I personally prefer the orange blossom water, so that is what I listed in the ingredient list when updating the recipe. It can be swapped for equal parts rose water.

Check out what everyone else made:

• Chocolate Decadence Ice Cream by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crushed Pineapple Ice Cream by Food Lust People Love
• Mastic Ice Cream by Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Lemon Basil Ice Cream by Our Good Life
• Root Beer Barrel Ice Cream by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Tahini and Lemon Curd Ice Cream by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• The Bees’ Knees Semifreddo by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This recipe was originally posted in July 2015 and updated in March 2026.

Mastic Ice Cream Recipe

Adapted from An Edible Mosaic

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Mastic Ice Cream

A recipe for Mastic Ice Cream! This stretchy, eggless ice cream is flavored with mastic, orange blossom water, and pistachio.

Course Dessert

Cuisine N/A

Keyword dessert, ice cream, mastic, orange blossom water, pistachio

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon mastic gum
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar divided
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) cornstarch
• 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) cold water
• 2 1/2 cups (600 milliliters) whole milk
• 1 cup (240 milliliters) heavy cream
• finely chopped pistachios for topping

Instructions

• Place the mastic gum in a small mortar and pestle with about 1/2 teaspoon of the granulated sugar.
• Crush into a fine powder and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until dissolved and smooth. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the remaining sugar, milk, and cream over medium heat.
• Once the liquid is starting to boil and all the sugar has dissolved, reduce heat to a simmer.
• Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture while whisking, then the ground mastic gum. Continue to simmer, while whisking, until the mixture thickens.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the orange blossom water.
• Allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until well chilled, 4 hours to overnight.
• Pour into prepared ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Either serve straight from the ice cream maker with a generous covering of chopped pistachios or transfer to a freezer safe bowl and freeze for up to a month.