Sherbet

Ingredients

Syrup

• 400 gcaster sugar
• 500 mlwater
• 1 tbsplemon juice

Rose version

• 3 tbsprosewater
• a handful of dried rose petals
• a few drops of red colouring, if wanted

Basil seed version

• 3 tbspbasil seeds, tukhm-e-rayhan
• 300 mlwater, to soak

Fruit version

• 400 mlfresh fruit juice, such as pomegranate, quince or cherry

To finish

• 1.5 litrescold water
• ice
• a few fresh mint leaves

To serve

• at a wedding, before the sweets

Directions

1. Put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a pan. Heat it gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves completely. The lemon juice stops it crystallising later.
2. Bring it to a simmer and cook it for eight minutes. It should thicken very slightly. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely. Add the dried rose petals to the hot syrup.
3. Cover it and let it infuse for thirty minutes as it cools. Strain the rose petals out again. Stir in the rosewater once the syrup is cold. Adding rosewater to hot syrup drives off its aroma entirely.
4. Add a drop of colouring if you want the traditional pink. They are tiny and black when dry. Soak them in the cold water for twenty minutes. Do not soak them in the syrup, which slows the swelling.
5. Stir the swollen seeds into the cooled syrup. They give the drink a distinctive texture that people either like or do not. Use a sharp fruit juice rather than a sweet one. Stir the juice into the cooled syrup.
6. Taste it and adjust the balance. Diluting it is done at the last moment. Mix roughly one part syrup to three parts cold water. Taste it and adjust to your own preference. It should be sweet but should still taste of the flavouring. Pour it into small glasses or tea glasses. Add a few ice cubes to each glass.
7. Stir the basil seed version before pouring, since the seeds sink. Serve it before the pastries at a wedding. Keep the undiluted syrup in a bottle in the fridge. It keeps for a month because of the sugar.

Technique

• Add rosewater only once the syrup is cold, since heat drives off its aroma entirely.
• Soak basil seeds in plain water rather than syrup, which slows the swelling.
• Keep the syrup concentrated and dilute it at serving, which makes it keep far longer.

Substitutions

• Any sharp fruit juice in place of rose or basil seed.
• Bottled rose syrup in place of homemade.

Variations

• Made with basil seeds for texture.
• Made with pomegranate or sour cherry juice.
• With a little orange blossom water alongside the rose.

History

Sweetened flower and fruit waters served before the sweets at Azerbaijani weddings; the name shares a root with sorbet.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sherbet?

Sherbet is a drink from Azerbaijan: chilled syrup drink of fruit, rose or basil seeds, poured at weddings. Sweetened flower and fruit waters served before the sweets at Azerbaijani weddings; the name shares a root with sorbet.

How long does Sherbet take to make?

Sherbet takes 20 min plus 2 hours chilling of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 glasses. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Sherbet?

Yes, within limits. Any sharp fruit juice in place of rose or basil seed. Bottled rose syrup in place of homemade.

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

Add a drop of colouring if you want the traditional pink. They are tiny and black when dry. Soak them in the cold water for twenty minutes. Do not soak them in the syrup, which slows the swelling.