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History
My remarkable grandfather, Hanifi Cosan,
was born in 1915 in the Town of Antakya in the Province of Hatay,
Turkey. He attended the local academy and became proficient in French,
Arabic, and Old Turkish. Always industrious, he collected snow from the
neighboring mountains during the winter and stored it in deep
underground wells for sale during the hot summer months. He became
affectionately known throughout the district by his nickname, “Karci”,
which is Turkish for “snow merchant ”. In the early 1930’s it occurred
to him that a cool icy treat would be refreshing during the long Turkish
summer. He set about experimenting with different combinations of
ingredients. And not just any ice cream, but with a unique stretchy
consistency!
He commenced vending his new
ice cream, which he called frosted creme, in front of the village
bakery. He initially served the frosted creme from insulated drums
cooled with ice from his wells. It proved to be an immediate success
throughout the district. The attraction was not only in the delicious
taste of the product, but in the novelty of preparing and stretching the
frosted creme in front of his customers. He found that repeated
stretchings of the frosted creme improved its texture and quality.
Whole families gathered to watch the preparation and purchase individual
cones. A master showman, he delighted his customers with carnival-like
entertainment. He soon found that he was making generous profits from
his new venture. He was able to sell his frosted creme for
approximately seven times the cost of the underlying ingredients. The
new venture proved so financially rewarding that he devoted his efforts
to it full time, and he gradually phased out the ice business.
Word of the successful new
enterprise spread throughout the province. He was soon visited by
concessionaires from neighboring towns eager to learn more about the
frosted creme. An upright man bound by high principle, he shared his
recipe with others, provided that they purchase the critical sahlep
ingredient from him. Many prospered as a result of this arrangement.
He reserved the territory in and around Reyhanli for himself and his
five sons. He installed each of his sons in a frosted creme
establishment throughout the neighborhoods and parks of the city.
As popularity of the new
concession spread far and wide, a technician from a neighboring town
sought to develop a decorative refrigerated unit from which the frosted
creme could be vended. After considerable experimentation, he devised
metal compartments cooled by refrigeration coils encased in a handsome
hand-carved wooden frame. Ownership of this distinctive machine has
become the pride of frosted creme vendors throughout Turkey. The Cosan
family has maintained excellent relations with the manufacturer of this
equipment. Bulent Cosan has been granted the exclusive right to import
and distribute the ice cream machine in the United States and Canada.
He also has
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