Turkish ice cream is believed to originate from the city of Maraş—hence the name—and what really sets it apart from other varieties is its resistance to melting and a particularly dense, chewy texture. These qualities are brought by adding two thickening agents to the basic milk and sugar mixture: Arab gum, also known as mastic resin, and salep—a type of flour made from the root of the early purple orchid.

In fact, in the Kahramanmaraş region, ice cream typically contains distinctly more salep than usual, which is why it is sometimes called kesme dondurma—from the Turkish kesmek, meaning to cut—which is the reason why this ice cream variety is usually eaten with a knife and fork. 

Kulfi is a traditional ice cream made with slowly simmered whole milk. Although the long-simmering process results in a loss of volume, it makes up for it with a delicious, nutty, caramelized flavor. The ice cream is characterized by its unusual, conical shape, a result of using traditional, special molds with tight-fitting lids.

Kulfi is usually flavored with traditional Indian ingredients such as pistachio, rose water, and saffron, although some cooks prefer to flavor it with fruits such as berries. It is believed that kulfi was invented by the ancient inhabitants of the Himalayas during the Mughal Empire era. 

Sorbetes is a popular Filipino ice cream flavored with ingredients such as mango, chocolate, cheese, coconut, and purple yam (ube). Traditionally, it is produced from carabao milk and served in tiny scoops on sugar cones. Some Filipinos like to consume it sandwiched between bread buns, like a hamburger.

Although it sounds similar to a sorbet, coming from the Spanish sorbete, it is not a sorbet, but a dirty ice cream, as the locals jokingly call it due to the fact that it is sold along polluted streets. Sorbetes can usually be found at numerous street carts throughout the Philippines.

Havij bastani is a delicious and unusual Iranian take on an ice cream float. This refreshing dessert combines fresh carrot juice and a scoop of ice cream, preferably vanilla-flavored or more traditional saffron-infused version. Often considered as both a beverage and a dessert, havij bastani can be sipped or eaten with a spoon.

It is always served in a glass, and it is usually topped with crushed pistachios, as well as cardamom or cinnamon.

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. This frozen treat is made with a creamy mixture of milk or cream, frozen custard, and sliced pistachios.

It is flavored with rose water and saffron and traditionally incorporates salep, an ingredient extracted from wild orchids. The vibrant yellow color and exotic flavors make bastani one of the favorite Iranian sweets. Iranians prefer to enjoy it in individual bowls, sprinkled with shredded pistachio, or served within two plain wafers, when it's known as bastani nooni ice cream sandwich.

Booza is an ice cream variety that has its origins in the Levant and the Middle East. Apart from the standard ingredients such as milk, cream, and various flavoring additions, booza is thickened with salep—a thickener made from the orchid root—and mastic gum, a resin obtained from mastic trees.

The ingredients are then pounded with wooden mallets until the mixture achieves its unique, stretchy consistency. Because no eggs or air are added, booza results in flavor-packed ice cream, with an amazingly dense and creamy texture. The most traditional flavor of booza is known as kashta or qashta—which is a variety of clotted cream often flavored with orange blossom and rose water—but standard flavorings also include fruit, chocolate, and nuts. 

The refreshing halo-halo (lit. mix-mix) is a summer dessert or a snack of mixed fruit and beans, topped with finely crushed ice and either milk or ice cream. Some of the most common halo-halo ingredients include bananas, jackfruit, coconut, sweet potatoes, red mung beans, chickpeas, sugar palm fruit, purple yam jam, leche flan, and - in recent times - even sweet corn or corn crisps.

Originally, halo-halo desserts were sold by Japanese vendors in halo-halo parlors or at numerous street stalls before the occupation of the Philippines in the 1940s. In fact, this Filipino specialty is often said to have been inspired by a shaved-ice cooler called anmitsu, another Japanese summer drink.