Republic of Booza, a new Williamsburg ice-cream joint, is taking the frozen treat back to its roots.
Booza, a type of ice cream that originated in the eastern part of the Mediterranean more than 500 years ago, is what many scholars call the original form of the dairy dessert we know today.
The ice cream uses ground orchid root (sahlab in Arabic) and a tree resin called mastic that’s a natural stabilizer to give the treat a unique stretchy consistency. Those ingredients, plus sugar, milk and the shop’s 35 traditional and nontraditional flavors, are mixed in a frozen drum until they freeze. Then, the product is pounded with 3-foot-long wooden pestles for up to 30 minutes and carefully stretched by hand until it takes on a creamy, smooth form. The end result is an ice cream so thick and stretchy you can twirl it on a fork and bite into it.
“I like to describe it as gelato on steroids,” says one of the shop’s millennial founders, Michael Sadler, who opened it with his friends Tamer Rabbani, Jilbert El-Zmetr, and Mohammed Makki. El-Zmetr is the only one of the bunch with food industry experience; he operated a commercial booza company where he’s from in Sydney.
“We sometimes refer to ourselves as the new kids on the ice-cream block,” says Sadler, a Cleveland native who met Rabbani when the two were studying at Oxford. Makki is a childhood friend of Rabbani’s.
The traditional flavor for booza is qashta, or candied cream, which tastes similar to vanilla with a caramelized bite. Republic of Booza serves it, along with dozens of flavors such as chocolate as well as salted Oreo, a briny-sweet take on cookies ’n’ cream wholesomeness, and Sichuan white chocolate. The latter isn’t spicy, but Sichaun peppercorns impart a numbing sensation.
“You’re just getting that slight tingle, almost like cinnamon,” Sadler says from Booza’s airy storefront, which is lit by fixtures made from the wooden pestles used to make the ice cream.
Other unique flavors include savory miso and a mango-tajin sorbet — a bright take on fresh mango spiked with lime-tinged spice, as sidewalk vendors offer.
“We all had in the back of our minds that booza was an incredible form of ice cream with an untapped potential,” says Sadler. “We saw that we could use it as a vehicle for all sorts of flavors from all over the world.” 76 North Fourth St., Williamsburg; 718-302-5000, RepublicOfBooza.com
More unusual ice cream treats
Rolled ice cream
To make Thai i tim pad — also called “rolled” ice cream — a creamy mixture is poured onto a freezing-cold metal plate and folded with fruit and other mix-ins. It’s then scraped up to create a scroll-like “scoop” of ice cream. The rolls are packed into cups, and covered with cookies, more fruit and other toppings. Try it at I CE NY (various locations at IceNYIceCream.com) — one of the first to serve the style in NYC.
Kulfi
India’s “kulfi,” is a thicker, creamier version of ice cream served as a scoop or pop in flavors such as rose, mango, pistachio or just plain cream, called “malai.” Enjoy it in popsicle form at Indian eateries throughout the city, such as fast casual Desi Galli (various locations Desi-Galli.com) or head to Kailash Parbat (99 Lexington Ave., 212-679-4238) for “kulfi falooda” — a scoop atop a milky, chilled mixture of vermicelli-style noodles, rose syrup and sweet basil seeds.
Nieve
Mexican “nieve” (that’s snow) is denser and made with less air and fat than American ice cream. It’s traditionally churned using a “garrafa” — a hand-cranked mixer that is composed of a metal drum that is surrounded by ice within a wooden barrel. Get it at La Newyorkina (240 Sullivan St. and a kiosk at Astor Place and Lafayette Street, LaNewYorkina.com) or Tia Mimi (4711 Fifth Ave., Sunset Park, and 89-14 Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights; NievesTiaMimi.com).
— Hannah Sparks