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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Mastic Ice Cream

[heart_this] · May 22, 2009 · 54 Comments

Mastic Ice Cream with Sour Cherry Sauce and Chopped Pistachios

Mediterranean cuisine and Greek cuisine in particular is one of my favorites and I am always on the lookout for new things to try. I recently came across a new Greek ingredient, mastic on two of my favorite Greek food blogs Greek Food R & R and Kalofagas . Mastic is the resin that comes from an evergreen tree found on the Greek island of Chios. When a mastic tree is scored, the resin “weeps” from the tree and the drops are dried by the sun. The mastic resin definitely has a resiny flavour and it has an aroma that reminds me of pine trees. Mastic is commonly used to make gum, liqueur and it is used as a spice in sweet and savoury dishes.
Once I heard about this new ingredient I just had to try. I was having difficulty tracking some down when a kind reader from Greece, Lillian offered to send me some along with some mastic gum. I was able to track down some mastic liqueur at the lcbo but they had less than a half a dozen bottles left in all of Toronto and at an out of the way location. I made a special trip to pick up a bottle and I was ready to try out the mastic resin and the mastic liqueur.
The first recipe to try on my list was a mastic shrimp saganaki that I had seen on Greed Food R & R . I had made a shrimp saganaki a while ago and really liked it! When I had made the shrimp saganaki the first time I had used ouzo as a flavouring so this time I just replaced the ouzo with the mastic and it turned out great. (I have updated the shrimp saganaki post with the results!)
When Lillian sent the mastic crystals she suggested a few things to try and one of them was adding mastic to a vanilla ice cream. Given that the weather has been nice and warm the last few days I thought that it was the perfect time to pull out the ice cream maker and make some ice cream. I decided to use my basic ice cream recipe and I added both some ground up mastic resin and a splash of the mastic liqueur. I did not use a full vanilla bean as I wanted the mastic flavour to be the star of the show but I did use vanilla sugar to add an undertone of vanilla to the ice cream. The mastic ice cream was just as easy as any other ice cream to make and it turned out really well. The mastic aroma coming from the ice cream was amazing and the flavour was just as good. I was not counting on how sweet the mastic liqueur was and the ice cream turned out a bit too sweet. No problem, I decided to serve the ice cream with a sour cherry sauce to balance out the sweetness and it worked like a charm. The sour cherry and mastic flavours paired really well! I topped it all off with some chopped pistachios for some contrasting colour and texture. Speaking of texture, the ice cream was just slightly gummy which was a really pleasant surprise. I am now looking forward using mastic again.

Mastic Ice Cream

Mastic Ice Cream

Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1/2 teaspoon mastic resin crystals
  • 1/2 cup sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 splash masticha liqueur
directions
  1. Grind the mastic resin crystals in a mortar and pestle along with some sugar.
  2. Heat the cream, milk, sugar and mastic in a sauce pan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes.
  3. Reduce the heat to low.
  4. Temper the eggs and stir them into the cream along with the masticha liqueur.
  5. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.
  6. You may want to strain the mixture at this point to remove any bits that may have formed while warming.
  7. Chill the mixture in the fridge.
  8. Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.
Similar Recipes:
Mastic Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with a Sour Cherry Sauce
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Dessert, Food, Greek, Ice Cream, Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    May 23, 2009 at 1:53 am

    Very cool! (sorry bad pun). I’ve never used mastic myself but you’ve totally made me want to try it ASAP.

    Reply
  2. Mary says

    May 23, 2009 at 1:59 am

    Intriguing! How fortunate that you were able to get all the ingredients you needed.

    Reply
  3. Gloria says

    May 23, 2009 at 2:10 am

    your Ice cream look awesome!! ice and beauty pics!! xGloria

    Reply
  4. Homecooked says

    May 23, 2009 at 2:31 am

    Wow….got to learn something new! Looks really nice and I’m sure it tasted amazing!

    Reply
  5. Debbie says

    May 23, 2009 at 2:33 am

    Good God that looks amazing! Wish I can just stick my spoon across the screen and have a taste. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Culinary Cory says

    May 23, 2009 at 3:30 am

    Now I’m going to have to go exploring to see if I can find this in Pittsburgh.

    Reply
  7. Deborah says

    May 23, 2009 at 3:44 am

    What an interesting ingredient!

    Reply
  8. rekhas kitchen says

    May 23, 2009 at 5:17 am

    so mouthwatering wish i could taste that yum

    Reply
  9. veredgy says

    May 23, 2009 at 7:01 am

    There is a mastic ice cream place in Jaffa, Israel for at least 50 years. I think Mastic is Arabian not Greek.

    Reply
  10. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    May 23, 2009 at 7:01 am

    So pretty and tempting! Surely delicious!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  11. Yaelian says

    May 23, 2009 at 10:10 am

    I have always thought mastic is used in ice cream for the texture but not for the flavour, so it was interesting to read about your mastic ice cream.Like one of the commenters already wrote, here we have had a place with mastic ice cream for decades…and it really has a bit different texture than other ice creams.

    Reply
  12. Peter M says

    May 23, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Kevin, the aroma of the mastic and vanilla must have been intoxicating! The ice cream sounds like a fabulous ice cream flavour and I’m delighted you enjoy the ingredient so much.

    Thanks again for the link and kind mention.

    Reply
  13. Jamie says

    May 23, 2009 at 10:58 am

    Hmmmm really unusual but I bet it was wonderful – it looks so by the beautiful photo. And with cherry sauce? Yummy!

    Reply
  14. lillian says

    May 23, 2009 at 11:09 am

    I know that mastiha ice cream,also known as kaimaki,can be found in Istanbul,Turkey,and it is very often served with a syrupy sour cherry ‘spoon sweet’,pretty much like the one Kevin used,so,good choice Kevin!I think it’s natural that this spice found its way into the cuisine of nearby countries such as Israel.We use many eastern spices in our cooking here in Greece..Now the mastiha tree is apparently very picky,since it only grows in the southern part of the Greek isle of Chios,and nowhere else in the world!!(!),including Greece,and the rest of Chios itself!

    Reply
  15. meeso says

    May 23, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    That sounds great… you have garnished it so nicely 🙂

    Reply
  16. Karen says

    May 23, 2009 at 2:46 pm

    This looks beautiful with the cherry topping. I can’t quite imagine what the taste is like.

    Reply
  17. Sam Sotiropoulos says

    May 23, 2009 at 2:46 pm

    Kevin, we’re going to make a Greek out of you yet! Mastic makes a great ice cream flavour, nice work! And thank you(!) for the shout out, I am very pleased to learn you tried the Mastic Shrimp Saganaki recipe and that you enjoyed it. 🙂 Be Well, My Friend.

    P.S. Am organizing a Toronto foodie TweetUp on the Danforth for May 31st, let me know if you’ll be joining us. Love to have you out!

    Reply
  18. Marta says

    May 23, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    great job at countering the unexpectedly sweet ice cream! the tartness I’m sure complemented the sweet aroma very well. It looks great!

    Reply
  19. Dishesdone says

    May 23, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    Looks delicious! You always come up with some very interesting recipes!

    Reply
  20. The DeL Sisters says

    May 23, 2009 at 4:47 pm

    Ah this sounds like something our mom would like!

    Reply
  21. Helene says

    May 23, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    Thanks for featuring an ingredient that I haven’t heard before. Yummy ice cream.

    Reply
  22. Fabjena(TheBestRecipes) says

    May 23, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    This one’s looking totaly great! :))

    Reply
  23. unconfidentialcook says

    May 23, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    So interesting…thanks. Looks just like my buratta sundae (check it out under small bites, and it’ll give you a laugh)

    Reply
  24. Marjie says

    May 23, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    I’ve learned to make ice cream in the past 6 months, and this is a great looking offering, Kevin!

    Reply
  25. Amy B says

    May 23, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    I hope mastic tastes better than the spruce gum we chew in Maine 🙂

    Well, most just try it once, not many who do make it a habit!

    PS I do love your blog.

    Reply
  26. Pam says

    May 24, 2009 at 1:10 am

    I’m not even going to try to look for it in my neck of the woods!

    Reply
  27. Kerstin says

    May 24, 2009 at 2:11 am

    I’ve never had mastic before, you always introduce me to the coolest ingredients!

    Reply
  28. Anonymous says

    May 24, 2009 at 2:20 am

    wow, this is the first time I’ve heard of mastic…now I think I shall have it embedded in my mind until I can get to try it for myself!

    Reply
  29. wholesale sweets says

    May 24, 2009 at 4:12 am

    Yes, I agree on what others commented. I also love this recipe. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  30. Rachana Vinay says

    May 24, 2009 at 8:57 am

    Kevin, I just love your recipes and your blog. I dont get some ingredients and vegetables that you use but that does not stop me from reading ur recipes. Awesome!!!

    Reply
  31. noobcook says

    May 24, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    What an exotic ingredient for ice cream and looks so delicious as well!

    Reply
  32. Ammu says

    May 24, 2009 at 2:03 pm

    Wow! mouthwatering & tempting icecream. Perfect for the summer.

    Reply
  33. cindy* says

    May 24, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    i’ve never heard of mastic. love the colors!

    Reply
  34. The Cooking Photographer says

    May 24, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    Hi Kevin,

    Friends like Lillian are so wonderful! You are lucky to have her.

    The ice-cream looks wonderful. If only I could copy it lol!

    ~Laura

    Reply
  35. Anonymous says

    May 24, 2009 at 7:47 pm

    so creative!

    Reply
  36. Chocolate Shavings says

    May 24, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    Ah.. if only I had an ice cream maker!

    Reply
  37. ICook4Fun says

    May 24, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    I never heard of mastic before. Something really new to me. Now you are getting me curious 🙂 By the way, beautiful picture of the ice-cream.

    Reply
  38. Cakebrain says

    May 25, 2009 at 6:03 am

    I have heard of mastic before, but only at the local Home Depot! I never realized it was edible or even could be made into anything that looked so delicious! I thought it was some sort of a glue-like substance used in construction? I wonder if the glue is made from the resin or if this is a totally different ingredient?

    Reply
  39. Stacy says

    May 25, 2009 at 7:57 am

    I’ve never heard of mastic before but it sounds so interesting. I’ll have to track down this ingredient to try it out myself! Thanks for the tasty recipe too 🙂

    Reply
  40. Indonesia-Eats says

    May 25, 2009 at 8:06 am

    Looking good, Kevin!

    Reply
  41. Natashya says

    May 25, 2009 at 10:35 am

    Thank you for introducing us to this very interesting ingredient, Kevin!

    Reply
  42. sugar & spice says

    May 25, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    The ice-cream looks delectable.

    I’ve been going through your recipes and I’ll have to say they all look fantastic. I’m definitely going to try out a few back home.

    Reply
  43. mirtilla says

    May 25, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    Molto bello, senz’altro molto buoono…

    Reply
  44. finsmom says

    May 25, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    This sounds heavenly! Gorgeous presentation! Yum!

    Reply
  45. chefectomy says

    May 25, 2009 at 10:14 pm

    Mastic seems to be all the rage right now Kevin. Your ice looks delectable. I am doing Strawberry today myself!

    –Marc

    Reply
  46. Bridgett says

    May 25, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    What an interesting ingredient. I am intrigued!

    Reply
  47. Chris says

    May 26, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    So interesting! I’m kinda intrigued about trying ice cream with juniper berries now…

    Reply
  48. Pam says

    May 27, 2009 at 4:18 am

    I’ve never heard of mastic before. The ice cream looks fantastic – I could go for a bowl right now.

    Reply
  49. Hannah says

    May 30, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    I wish I could get my hands on some mastic… It sounds so intriguing! And this ice cream definitely looks delicious.

    Reply
  50. Daniel says

    June 8, 2009 at 10:42 am

    Hey thnx for the posting of such a very delicious ice cream making method……recently i purchase an ice machine with the following site Discounts Ice Machines means you can also get discount to ice machines and with the using of that machine i am making many types of ice creams and i also tried your poatsed ice cream and i was osammmmmmmmmmmmmm…….thnx .

    Reply
  51. White Linen says

    December 13, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    wow, this ice cream is awesome.Love it

    Reply
  52. Sean Robert says

    February 4, 2010 at 5:26 am

    Great use of mastic! It was great to see another foodie search for unique ingredients. I need a Lillian!! My "Magnolia House" kitchen in California will be looking forward to more ideas from Toronto!

    Reply
  53. Helen Koulinos says

    February 29, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    Can you use Mastiha alcohol instead of the crystals and if so what quantity?

    Reply
    • kevin says

      March 2, 2020 at 1:47 pm

      Yes you can! Use 1 tablespoon. Enjoy!

      Reply

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Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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