Ingredients
Fruit
- 200 gdried doum palm fruit, whole or ground
- 1.5 litreswater
To finish
- sugar or honey, to taste
- a squeeze of lemon, optional
Sometimes
- milk, for a richer version
- a little cinnamon or ginger
To serve
- hot in winter, or iced in summer, from a herbalist’s stall
Directions
- Wrap it in a cloth first, since it shatters and fragments fly. Discard the inner stone, which is like wood and gives nothing. Use only the fibrous flesh of it.
- Soak the broken pieces or the powder in water overnight. The fibre is very dry and hard and it releases slowly, so a long soak is what extracts the flavour.
- Bring the soaked mixture to a boil and simmer it for thirty to forty-five minutes. Boiling rather than steeping is the method here, since the fibre needs real heat and time.
- Top up the water as it reduces. It should be a deep amber to reddish brown and smell strongly of gingerbread. Taste it: it should be clearly flavoured before any sugar goes in. If it is pale and thin, keep simmering or use more fruit.
- Strain it through a fine sieve or muslin. Let it settle and pour off the clear liquid, leaving the sediment behind. Add sugar or honey to taste while it is still hot, so it dissolves. Doum has a natural sweetness of its own, so it needs less sugar than most Egyptian drinks.
- Taste it before adding much sugar. Now the hot and cold versions. Boil the fruit in water first and add the milk afterwards, since milk slows the extraction. Now serving it out, hot or iced.
- Serve it hot in glasses or cold over ice. Stir it before pouring, since fine sediment settles. It keeps three or four days refrigerated.
Technique
- The doum palm has been cultivated since ancient Egypt and appears in tombs.
- The edible part is a thin dry fibrous layer, not a juicy flesh.
- It genuinely tastes of gingerbread without any spice being added.
Substitutions
- Ground doum powder, which infuses far faster.
- There is no real substitute for the flavour.
Variations
- Made with milk, for a richer drink.
- Served iced during Ramadan.
- With cinnamon or ginger added.
History
Made from the fruit of the doum palm of Upper Egypt and Nubia, sold by herbalists and Ramadan drink stalls.
Frequently asked questions
What is Doum?
Doum is a drink from Egypt: infusion of the gingerbread palm fruit, drunk hot or iced with a gingerbread taste. Made from the fruit of the doum palm of Upper Egypt and Nubia, sold by herbalists and Ramadan drink stalls.
How long does Doum take to make?
Doum takes 10 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Doum?
Yes, within limits. Ground doum powder, which infuses far faster. There is no real substitute for the flavour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Doum?
Bring the soaked mixture to a boil and simmer it for thirty to forty-five minutes. Boiling rather than steeping is the method here, since the fibre needs real heat and time.
