TEHRAN -- Iran’s traditional ice cream, known as Bastani Sonnati, has topped the list of the world’s 50 best frozen desserts released by Taste Atlas, a popular encyclopedia of local food, traditional restaurants, and authentic recipes across the world.
On the Taste Atlas list, which was updated on Wednesday, Bastani Sonnati was ranked first, followed by Peru’s Queso helado ice cream and the Turkish dondurma ice cream.
The Iranian traditional Faloodeh sorbet also secured the ninth spot.
Bastani Sonnati is a unique saffron-infused Iranian ice cream that was invented at the beginning of the 20th century by Akbar Mashti, the first ice cream vendor in Tehran.
The frozen treat is made with a creamy mixture of milk or cream, frozen custard, and sliced pistachios and saffron.
Faloodeh also consists of frozen sugar syrup infused with rose water and mixed with thin vermicelli noodles. According to popular belief, Faloodeh originated in Shiraz and is one of the first sorbet varieties in the world, dating back to 400 BC.
In Iran, it is usually served drizzled with fresh lime juice, chopped pistachios, or sweet cherry syrup, and enjoyed as a refreshing summer dessert.
Last month, Taste Atlas released a list of 100 herbal dishes, and selected Zeytoon Parvardeh (marinated olive) as the best item on this list.
According to the experiential travel online guide for traditional food, the ranking of the foods on its list is based on the ratings the users give.
The site recognizes real users with a series of mechanisms and ignores the ratings of bots or local people.
Meanwhile, it gives more value to the ratings of users that the system knows. Apparently, for the list of “the World’s 100 Top Vegetarian Foods” until April 24, 2023, 9,740 ratings were recorded, of which 6,107 were recognized as genuine and legal by the system.
Taste Atlas says its goal is to promote top local foods, make traditional foods more popular, and arouse the curiosity of people about foods that they have not yet tried.