Ingredients
The raisins
- 500 gdark raisins
- or sultanas
- washed
- 2 litrescold water
Sometimes added
- sugar, to taste
- if the raisins are not sweet enough
- 1cinnamon stick
- a few cardamom pods
- crushed
To finish
- juice of 1 lemon
- optional
- rose water, a few drops
- optional
To serve
- well chilled
- over ice
- at iftar in Ramadan
Directions
- Discard it entirely if it does. Do not drink a fermented batch. Wash the raisins before steeping. Raisins are coated to stop them sticking. Taste it before adding any sugar. Rinse the raisins in warm water. Rub them between your hands as you rinse. Rinse them through two or three changes.
- Pick out any stalks or debris. Discard any that look at all mouldy. Check them all over as you wash. It takes only a moment to do that. Put the raisins in a large jar. Cover them with the cold water.
- Use a glass jar or a clean jug. It must be genuinely clean inside. Wash the jar out thoroughly first. Cover the jar with a lid or cloth. That keeps dust and insects out. Put the jar in the refrigerator. Cold slows the wild yeasts right down.
- Leave it for about twenty-four hours. Taste it after about twelve hours. It should be clearly sweet by then. Stir it once or twice as it steeps. That helps the extraction along. Strain the liquid through a sieve. Press the raisins against the sieve. Do not push the pulp through though.
- Strain it again through a cloth. Taste it and add sugar if needed. Good raisins need no sugar at all. Squeeze a little lemon juice in. Add it and keep tasting as you go. Add a few drops of rose water. A few drops of it is quite enough. Add it drop by drop and taste. Add them at the start of steeping.
- Strain them out with the raisins. It is served genuinely very cold. Discard it if it fizzes at all. Keep it genuinely cold throughout. Serving it is always done over ice.
- Pour it into glasses over ice. Fill the glass with ice first. That keeps it genuinely properly cold. Make it slightly stronger than you want. A sweet cold drink suits that moment. Discard it if it starts to fizz.
Technique
- Sugary liquid ferments readily and raisins carry wild yeasts on their skins, so steep it in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature — cold slows the yeasts right down. Fizzing, or a yeasty or alcoholic smell, means it has begun fermenting and the batch should be discarded. Some traditional versions steep at room temperature, which works in cooler weather but is riskier in genuine heat; the atlas recommends the refrigerator.
- Wash the raisins before steeping, rubbing them between your hands through two or three changes of water: commercial raisins are usually coated in oil to stop them sticking, and that oil floats on the finished drink.
- It keeps about three days refrigerated and ferments if left much longer — keep it genuinely cold and discard it if it fizzes at all.
Substitutions
- Sultanas give a paler lighter drink where dark raisins give the deepest colour and strongest flavour; both are genuinely used. The drink is only as good as the raisins, since plump ones give a great deal and dry hard ones very little.
- A cinnamon stick or crushed cardamom pods added at the start infuse over the whole steeping and are strained out with the raisins; some cooks blend the raisins into the drink for a thicker cloudier version, though the clear one is more usual.
Variations
- Cold steeping gives a fresher flavour where boiling gives a cooked stewed taste, and the difference is genuinely noticeable — this is an infusion rather than a decoction, with no cooking at all.
- Press the raisins against the sieve to extract more liquid but do not push the pulp through, which clouds the drink; a second strain through muslin gives a much clearer result.
- Taste before adding any sugar, since good raisins carry plenty and extra is often unnecessary; a little lemon juice sharpens the heavy sweetness and is a small but real improvement. Make it slightly stronger than you want, since melting ice thins it.
History
Raisins are steeped in water for a day; the drink is also distributed free during Ashura processions.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sharbat zabib?
Sharbat zabib is a drink from Iraq: dark raisin infusion, sweet and cooling, served iced in Ramadan. Raisins are steeped in water for a day; the drink is also distributed free during Ashura processions.
How long does Sharbat zabib take to make?
Sharbat zabib takes 15 minutes plus steeping of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes about 2 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Sharbat zabib?
Yes, within limits. Sultanas give a paler lighter drink where dark raisins give the deepest colour and strongest flavour; both are genuinely used. The drink is only as good as the raisins, since plump ones give a great deal and dry hard ones very little. A cinnamon stick or crushed cardamom pods added at the start infuse over the whole steeping and are strained out with the raisins; some cooks blend the raisins into the drink for a thicker cloudier version, though the clear one is more usual.
What is the most important thing to get right in Sharbat zabib?
Discard it entirely if it does. Do not drink a fermented batch. Wash the raisins before steeping. Raisins are coated to stop them sticking. Taste it before adding any sugar. Rinse the raisins in warm water. Rub them between your hands as you rinse. Rinse them through two or three changes.
