'Game of Cones': Turkish jugglers come to Hyderabad with chewy delights

Hyderabad: Ice cream has been one of the most popular dessert alternatives for people of all ages. Consider the pure enjoyment of savoring the sweet and savory, with a value-added benefit from some amusing gimmicks at the ice cream stall. Yes, the 'tricky' Turkish ice cream has piqued the interest of some Hyderabadis.

In recent years, the number of Turkish ice cream kiosks in Hyderabad has increased significantly attracting a large number of people, especially youth.

"I first tried Turkish ice cream at a city event. The ice cream was smoother and tasted different than other ice creams on the market. The stunts performed at the stall, on the other hand, were an extra bonus. I was given the cone, and the next thing I knew, it was removed from my grasp. It's a lot of fun to chase the man's hand for the ice cream," says Radhika Maloo, an IT employee from the city.

"The men doing the tricks are called jugglers," says Jagbeer Singh, who runs a Turkish ice cream store in Kompally. “They normally have six to seven different sorts of tricks to keep the clients interested. They do the trick with the customer's consent, which changes based on their emotions. Many jugglers improvise and learn new tricks to keep things interesting."

“Turkish ice cream vendors are well-known for their pranks, which include playing with clients, confounding them, and making them laugh while selling ice cream. Traditionally known as Dondurma, this ice cream originated in Turkey. It's wonderful, stretchy, chewy, and sweet, and it comes in a variety of flavors with a texture unlike any other store-bought ice cream” said Faraaz Farshori, Founder of Die Hard Foodies.

“The metal rod is part of the conventional manufacturing process: the ice cream is beaten—kneaded if you will—so that it adheres to itself. The result is a frozen confection with which you can play tricks; it also melts much slower than non-elastic ice cream, which is useful in the Turkish heat” he added.

A treat for social media

While the colourful ice cream makes for a wonderful Instagram snap, the stall's techniques have been trending on various social media networks. Crazy stunts and reactions to them, previously seen in foreign places, are now available in Hyderabad, enhancing the entertainment quotient, particularly among young people.

What is Turkish Icecream?

Turkish ice cream, commonly known as Gelato, is an Italian frozen delight. The word 'gelato' literally means 'ice cream' in Italian. Although both gelato and traditional ice creams contain milk, sugar, and cream, gelato is softer and more flavorful than traditional ice cream. Eggs are also commonly utilized in ice cream, which is not the case with Turkish ice cream.

Why do Turkish ice cream vendors pull pranks and why do they never melt?

Turkish ice cream, unlike other types of ice cream, is sticky and does not melt readily, making it ideal for the trick.

Turkish ice cream vendors dressed in traditional clothing and performing various stunts have drawn your attention countless times. These sellers are no longer confined to Turkey; they can be found in practically every supermarket in major cities. Of course, the ice cream's distinctive selling point is the vendor's trick before giving over the cone to the buyer, but every marketing method has its beginnings in one unique experiment. Also, the ingredients of the dessert that enable the feat.

Turkish man who started ice cream trick in Istanbul

The practice of selling ice cream by playing pranks on customers began in 2013 when an ice cream vendor from Istanbul began grabbing passersby's attention with his stunts. He was seen taking the basic act of cone-slinging to an art form in a video that went viral.

The seller served the ice cream with a metal pole before attempting some sleight-of-hand cone skills. Since Turkish ice cream vendors perfected the skill, selling ice cream this way has become normal.

The ice cream cone and the ice cream are stuck together. When the consumer is taken aback by the empty cone, he piles the entire bucket of ice cream as another ruse. This technique necessitates a high level of skill.

What makes Turkish ice cream the only kind for pulling pranks

Unlike other types of ice cream, Turkish ice cream is sticky and does not melt readily, making it ideal for the trick. The texture of the ice cream is extremely chewy. Due to the high viscosity, the ice cream vendor must continually mix the ice cream in the bucket throughout the performance in order for it to soften to a fluid texture before serving. It is, in fact, the only ice cream that can be consumed with a fork and knife.

Turkish ice cream is made using very minimal ingredients. Most of them contain a few components such as goat's milk, Salep (blue stem powder), Yang frankincense, and sugar. Salep is a powder derived from the rhizome of an orchid. This one-of-a-kind orchid can only be found in Iran and Turkey. Salep is a costly component, and overharvesting of these orchids has resulted in a significant decrease in the population of this endangered flower species. Salep exports from Turkey are currently prohibited. As a result, Turkish vendors in Hyderabad replace Salep with another gummy synthetic substance to get the same feel.

Where to find Turkish Icecream in Hyderabad?

- Sarath City Mall food court

- Inorbit Mall Food court

- Turkish Icecream by FUMO GELATO, Kompally

- The Turkish Icecream, Medchal