Who'd a thought? "Dondurma, Turkish ice cream, is traditionally made with goat's milk, mastic and salep, which is derived from the bulbs of wild Anatolian orchids. These flowers are now endangered, so Lezzetli Ice Cream <http://www.lezzetliicecream.com/>, which recently started selling its homage to dondurma at the Hester Street Fair on the Lower East Side, substitutes *Japanese konjac powder*. The ice cream is churned in a machine, frozen, then beaten with a long rod (as is traditional) until it clings to itself. Of the four flavors currently available, Chios vanilla, named after the Greek island where the mastic tree grows and thoroughly colonized by flecks of vanilla bean, is the doughiest; pull it and you can see strands part, as with string cheese." From today's NY Times online. Emphasis mine. Judy in sunny, summery, humid New Jersey --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com/