Orange Blossom Water

Licorice or liquorice is the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra is an herbaceous perennial plant which grows in Mediterranean countries from Anatolia to Spain. The plants grow to 50-120 cm and have bluish purple flowers.

Licorice plants are widespread in Syria, particularly in Al-Raqqa governorate. Syrian licorice is considered one of the best in the world and is referred to as Euphrates licorice.

Today’s recipe is about Sharab E’riq Sous (Licorice drink) which is one of the most important drinks in Ramadan, the licorice drink is produced by moistening the roots. Afterward, they are wrapped in cloth and soaked slowly with water.

The licorice drink vendor walks around old market places and allies, wearing his traditional outfit and carrying the drink in a container on his back.

Confession: I don’t drink Sharab E’riq Sous because I don’t like it, but all my family members love it so much, so give it a try if you find the roots.

Let’s make Sharab E’riq Sous:

1. Put dried licorice roots in a bowl.

2. Add baking soda to the licorice roots.

3. Add orange blossom water.

4. Add 70 g water to the licorice roots.

5. Mix until combined and the licorice roots are moistened with the water.

6. Prepare a cotton cloth.

7. Place the moistened licorice roots on the cloth.

8. Wrap the cloth.

9, 10. Place the cloth in a jug filled with 1020 g water.

11. Keep the jug in the refrigerator for 6 hours.

12. After 6 hours, the drink is ready.

13. To serve, remove the cloth from the jug, and discard the roots.

14. 15. Pour the licorice drink from a distance to another jug as you see in the picture, and do this step several times, so you have to pour it several times from a jug to another, this method is called (Tashrie’).

16. Pouring the drink from a distance will produce a foam on the drink and that’s what we need.

17. Serve cold, and make sure to pour it from a distance to the glass so you get the foam, but there is no need to do it several times, because the foam is already formed.

Sharab E’riq Sous

From: Family Recipe / Servings: 4 People
PDF Text Only / Print With Images

60 g crushed dried licorice roots 1/4 tsp baking soda 2 tsp orange blossom water 1090 g water

Put dried licorice roots in a bowl. Add baking soda to the licorice roots. Add orange blossom water. Add 70 g water to the licorice roots. Mix until combined and the licorice roots are moistened with the water. Prepare a cotton cloth. Place the moistened licorice roots on the cloth. Wrap the cloth. Place the cloth in a jug filled with 1020 g water. Keep the jug in the refrigerator for 6 hours. After 6 hours, the drink is ready. To serve, remove the cloth from the jug, and discard the roots. Pour the licorice drink from a distance to another jug as you see in the picture, and do this step several times, so you have to pour it several times from a jug to another, this method is called (Tashrie’). Pouring the drink from a distance will produce a foam on the drink and that’s what we need. Serve cold, and make sure to pour it from a distance to the glass so you get the foam, but there is no need to do it several times, because the foam is already formed.

Notes and Tips

The traditional method of making the drink is the same except one thing, after wrapping the moistened licorice, they put the cloth on a colander under running water but the water should run very slowly, here is a photo to show you Traditional Method of Making Licorice Drink

Here is a closer photo of Crushed Dried Licorice Roots. To know more about the grades of licorice roots read here and you will notice from the information that the licorice I used for this recipe is known as “Dried Licorice Root Crushed Tea Grade” or as “Dried Licorice Roots Fine Cut or Tea Bag Cut”.

Here is a photo of  Licorice Drink Vendor.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 8:38 PM and is filed under Syrian Drinks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.