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Faloodeh

فالوده (fālūde), Shiraz

🇮🇷 Iran Desserts easy 20 min prep · 4 hr (mostly hands-off freezer time) cook serves 6 bowls 5 hr start to table ~180 kcal per serving surprise

Sorbet with a tangle of cold noodles frozen into it. Shiraz has been serving this on purpose for centuries, possibly longer than anyone has been making ice cream.

Rosewater and lime handle the aroma and the acid, while the noodles carry nothing but texture: neutral rice starch that stays pleasantly chewy below freezing. It is the same logic as boba or fruit chunks in a slushy, a soft bite that interrupts the ice crystals.

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The story

Faloodeh has a real claim to being one of the world's oldest frozen desserts. The name comes from the Persian verb paloodan, to refine, after the way the original starch batter was pressed through a sieve into fine strings, and Persians were chilling it with stored winter ice long before mechanical freezing existed.

Its home is Shiraz, where it is still standard in ice cream shops, often sold next to saffron bastani and finished with lime juice or a slick of sour cherry syrup. In 2023 Iran added faloodeh-making to its national intangible cultural heritage list, which is a lot of paperwork for noodle slush.

Fair warning: Rosewater reads as soap to a noticeable minority of palates, so go light the first time; you can always stir more into the syrup.
The recipe

Ingredients

  • 710 ml (3 cups) water, for the syrup
  • 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 pinch fine salt
  • 30 ml (2 tbsp) rosewaterstart with less if you are new to it
  • 30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh lime juiceplus wedges to serve
  • 60 g (2 oz) thin rice vermicellithe thinnest you can find
  • 2 tbsp slivered pistachiosoptional
  • to taste sour cherry syrup or jamoptional, a classic topping

Method

  1. Bring the 710 ml of water, the sugar, and the salt to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
  2. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the rosewater and lime juice.
  3. Pour the syrup into a wide, shallow metal or glass dish, let it cool to room temperature, then put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, boil the rice vermicelli in plenty of water for 2 minutes, then cover, turn off the heat, and let sit 5 minutes until soft but not mushy.
  5. Drain the noodles, rinse under cold water, and snip them into short 2 to 3 cm lengths with scissors.
  6. Stir the noodles into the chilled syrup and return the dish to the freezer.
  7. After 1 hour, scrape the frozen edges into the center with a fork and stir the noodles around.
  8. Repeat the scraping every hour, 2 or 3 more times, until the whole dish is an even, icy slush.
  9. Rake everything with a fork one last time so the noodles are evenly distributed and the texture is fluffy rather than solid.
  10. Serve in chilled bowls with a lime wedge for squeezing, plus pistachios or sour cherry syrup if you like.
Shopping notes
Thin rice vermicelli is in any Asian grocery; rosewater is at Middle Eastern and Indian stores or in the baking aisle of larger supermarkets. Traditional shops press a fresh starch batter into noodles, but rice vermicelli is the accepted home shortcut.
Cross-checked against: en.wikipedia.org · thecaspianchef.com
Kitchen notes

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