Maras Ice Cream Product Description and Distinguishing Features: Maraş Ice Cream is made with the milk of goats that feed on flowers such as thyme, keven, hyacinth, and narcissus, which grow within the borders of the Kahramanmaraş province, skillfully crafted by ice cream masters. According to legend, Maraş Ice Cream was discovered as an extension of a type of frozen dessert called "karsambaç" in the Ottoman period palaces. Osman Ağa, known as Maraşlı Osman, an artisan who sold wild orchids (salep) to Ottoman palaces and noble mansions, buried the leftover salep with a mixture of sugar and milk after his sales were finished one day. The next day, he noticed a change in the consistency of the salep; the mixture of milk, salep, and sugar had gained density and elongated like gum. Realizing that it was a different flavor, he saw that many people around him tasted and liked this newly found food item. Thus, "salepli karsambaç" (ice cream with salep) became highly demanded and Maraş Ice Cream was born. Among the ice creams produced in Turkey, Maraş Ice Cream stands out with its relatively low volume expansion, distinctive pleasant taste (flavor and aroma), chewy elastic (hard, flexible) texture that can be slightly bitten, homogeneous shiny white color, resistance to melting, and the ability to preserve its qualities for an extended period at low temperatures ( -18°C and/or below). Maraş Ice Cream has become a symbol, strongly associated with the city's name, and has gained significant importance in Turkish dessert culture. Besides the unique taste and aroma created by goat milk and salep used in its production, another distinctive feature of Maraş Ice Cream is the skill and expertise required in its preparation. Maraş Ice Cream can only acquire its unique characteristics when goat milk produced in the Kahramanmaraş region is used. The essential qualities and characteristics of the mentioned goat milk are derived from the natural elements unique to the Kahramanmaraş region. Maraş Ice Cream is exclusively made using goat milk, salep, and sugar. The conditions that goat milk, salep, and sugar must meet are as follows: Goat Milk: Goat milk is crucial in the production of Maraş Ice Cream due to its white color resulting from the absence of carotene and carotenoids and its richness in total solids. What distinguishes the goat milk used in Maraş Ice Cream production from the goat milk used in the manufacture of other ice cream types is that it is obtained from goats freely roaming and feeding on flowers such as thyme, keven, hyacinth, narcissus, untouched within the borders of the Kahramanmaraş province. The milk of goats raised and nourished in the plateaus within the borders of Kahramanmaraş has the right texture and aroma for Maraş Ice Cream production. As a result of using this goat milk, Maraş Ice Cream contains at least 4% milk fat. All goats raised and nourished within the borders of Kahramanmaraş and utilized by Maraş Ice Cream producers for milk supply are tagged and registered in the Sheep and Goat Identification System (KKKS). Salep: Salep used in Maraş Ice Cream production complies with the Turkish Food Codex Spice Regulation. The active ingredient in the tubers of salep orchids is glucomannan. Salep contains glucomannan, ranging from approximately 7% to 61%, depending on the genus of the orchid from which it is derived. This substance swells in milk, creating a viscous solution. The delayed melting, firmness, and elasticity of ice cream are provided by this substance. Salep acts as a stabilizer in ice cream production, giving the desired structure and mass (smooth, rich, homogeneous) due to its stabilizing properties, partly delaying melting, and preventing the formation of large ice crystals during production and storage. In addition to its stabilizing property, salep is an emulsifier that binds fat. The binding of fat is also important for the consistency of ice cream. A Maraş Ice Cream master can discern the quality and consistency of salep by holding a pinch of it in water between the thumb and index finger, judging its flow ratio and consistency. Generally, the percentage of salep applied in Maraş Ice Cream production is in the range of 0.7% to 8%. The proportion of used salep varies depending on the genus of the orchid from which it is derived and its associated stabilizing properties.Sugar: White sugar that complies with the Turkish Food Codex Sugar Regulation is used. Generally, the sugar ratio applied in Maraş Ice Cream production is in the range of 15% to 22%. Production Method: Goat milk obtained from goat milk producers must be delivered to the Maraş Ice Cream production facility (referred to as the facility) without breaking the cold chain and within 4 hours of milking, as a general practice. After passing through the pre-filtering process, the pH of the incoming goat milk is analyzed, and the presence of water is determined. In the production of Maraş Ice Cream, 100% goat milk is used. After pH analysis, the quantity of milk determined for production is subjected to the pasteurization process. After pasteurization, goat milk is boiled in an open vat or thickened with the help of an evaporator, bringing the dry matter content to a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 20%. After the thickening process, sugar is added to the cooled milk up to 40°C, and the milk is brought to a boil again. Salep is added to the boiling milk until the total dry matter content reaches at least 33%, continuing the boiling process for 3 to 5 minutes.The liquid mixture is pasteurized again and cooled between 5°C and 10°C. The pasteurization process is applied to both goat milk and Maraş Ice Cream mixture. After the cooling process, the Maraş Ice Cream mixture is transferred to tanks and churned using cooling machines. The churning process is carried out with an air content of at least 15% and a maximum of 30%, with an outlet temperature between -5°C and -8°C.Once the production of Maraş Ice Cream is complete, it is taken from the machine and packaged. Packaged products are placed in tunnels at -40°C and kept until the core temperature of the product reaches -20°C to -22°C. After this process, without breaking the cold chain, the products are sent to the warehouses and made ready for sale.Packaged and ready-to-sell Maraş Ice Cream can be stored for up to 1 year at temperatures of -18°C or below.