(This venue is closed.) Kashta (frequently transliterated ashta) is a creamy component of many Lebanese pastries. It also figures in at least two flavors of Cedars' housemade ice cream, one studded with pistachios, and this simple version traced with rosewater. Traditionally such ice cream would be thickened with sahlep (often, salep), the powdered tuber of a Middle Eastern orchid that also bolsters a namesake hot beverage. In recent years the orchid has been increasingly endangered in Turkey, a major producer of sahlep, and the powder can no longer be legally exported from that country. Konjac powder and cornstarch are common substitutes, though I can't speak for the scoop shown here.
The chewiness and elastic consistency of Lebanese ice cream is provided by mastic, the resin of a tree native to Greece, or by a similar resin derived from two species of acacia. Both sahlep (or its stand-in) and mastic help prevent the ice cream from melting too quickly in hot weather.
Cedars Pastry
7204 Fifth Ave. (72nd-73rd Sts.), Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
718-238-8111
