Queimada

Ingredients

Spirit

• 1 litreorujo, Galician pomace brandy

To flavour

• 200 gcaster sugar
• the peel of 1 lemon, in strips
• the peel of 1 orange, in strips
• 30coffee beans

Sometimes added

• a few slices of apple
• a cinnamon stick

Equipment

• a wide shallow clay or earthenware pot
• a long-handled ladle
• a fire extinguisher or a large lid, within reach

Note

• this involves setting high-proof spirit alight and is genuinely dangerous

Directions

1. Tie back long hair and roll up loose sleeves. Never throw water on burning spirit. Keep the bottle well away from the pot.
2. Keep children and anyone unsteady well back. Never use plastic, thin glass or anything that could crack.
3. Set the pot on a stable heatproof surface. Preparing the ingredients is done before anything is lit. Pour most of the orujo into the pot. Add the citrus peel and the coffee beans.
4. Put a ladleful of orujo and a few spoonfuls of sugar in the ladle itself. Lighting it is done from the ladle rather than the pot.
5. Hold the ladle away from your body and away from the pot. Add the remaining sugar gradually to the burning pot. Stir it with the long-handled ladle.
6. Lift ladlefuls of burning liquid and pour them back in a stream. Keep your face and body well away as you do it. Do not lift the ladle high above your head.
7. Cover the pot completely with the lid. Leave the lid on for a minute to be sure. Do not blow on it and do not add anything. Ladle it into small earthenware cups. It should be hot but not scalding.

Technique

• This involves setting high-proof spirit alight; do it outdoors with a lid to hand and never lean over the pot.
• Never pour more spirit into a pot that is already burning, and never use water to put it out.
• The conxuro spell most people know was largely written in the 1950s, though the ritual is older.

Substitutions

• Any grape pomace brandy in place of Galician orujo.
• A heavy metal pot if you have no earthenware one.

Variations

• With slices of apple burned in it.
• With a cinnamon stick added.
• Made without lighting it, simply warmed, which is safer but not the same thing.

History

Galician ritual punch whose conxuro incantation, warding off witches, was largely written in the 1950s.

Frequently asked questions

What is Queimada?

Queimada is a cocktail from Spain: galician orujo burned with sugar, coffee beans and lemon peel while a spell is read. Galician ritual punch whose conxuro incantation, warding off witches, was largely written in the 1950s.

How long does Queimada take to make?

Queimada takes 10 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Queimada?

Yes, within limits. Any grape pomace brandy in place of Galician orujo. A heavy metal pot if you have no earthenware one.

What is the most important thing to get right in Queimada?

Tie back long hair and roll up loose sleeves. Never throw water on burning spirit. Keep the bottle well away from the pot.