Sharab al-Mishmish

the apricot cordial of al-Andalus: fresh apricots simmered with sugar, rosewater, and a thread of saffron, then strained to a clear amber syrup to be diluted with iced water or mixed into sherbets in the manner of the Moorish court kitchen

Origin: al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia)

From the journey of Apricot.

The Andalusian sharab (from which the English words sherbet, shrub, sorbet, and syrup all derive, via the Arabic root sh-r-b, to drink) was the great non-alcoholic luxury beverage of the Islamic world. At the court of the Umayyad caliphate in Córdoba and in the Nasrid palaces of Granada, the sharab was prepared in large quantities from the finest seasonal fruit — pomegranate, quince, mulberry, rose, lemon, and above all the apricot, which grew in the irrigated gardens of the Andalusian vega with extraordinary quality. The eleventh-century Andalusian agricultural treatise of Ibn al-'Awwam, the twelfth-century physician's manual of Ibn Jumay', and the thirteenth-century Catalan manuscript attributed to the Hispano-Arab tradition all contain references to apricot syrups prepared for medicinal and recreational use: the fruit's cooling, slightly acidic nature made the sharab al-mishmish a recommended preparation for hot weather and febrile conditions. The technique is simple but the result is remarkable: a clear amber syrup that carries the full intensity of ripe apricot, brightened with rosewater and threaded with saffron, dissolved into cold spring water at the table. Diluted with ice and water in the modern version, it becomes one of the most refreshing summer drinks imaginable.

Ingredients

Fruit

  • 800 g ripe apricots, halved and stoned

Liquid

  • 500 ml water

Sweet

  • 350 g caster sugar

Flavouring

  • 2 tbsp rosewater

Spice

  • 0.25 tsp saffron threads, steeped in 2 tbsp warm water for 15 minutes

Acid

  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method

  1. Place the halved apricots in a medium saucepan with the water. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes until the apricots are completely soft and broken down.
  2. Pass the cooked fruit through a fine sieve or muslin-lined strainer, pressing gently to extract all the juice. Discard the skins and pulp. You should have approximately 600–700 ml of clear apricot juice.
  3. Return the strained juice to the saucepan. Add the sugar, saffron water, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, then bring to a steady simmer and cook for 10–15 minutes until the syrup has reduced slightly and will lightly coat the back of a spoon.
  4. Remove from heat. Stir in the rosewater. Taste and adjust: the syrup should be intensely sweet-sharp and aromatic, with the rosewater a background note rather than a dominant one.
  5. Cool completely, then pour into sterilised bottles. Refrigerate once opened. The syrup will keep for 3–4 weeks in the refrigerator.
  6. To serve as a sherbet in the Andalusian manner: pour 3–4 tablespoons of the syrup into a tall glass filled with crushed ice, top with 200 ml cold sparkling or still water, and stir briefly.

Notes

The saffron in this recipe is historically accurate to the Andalusian tradition: the great saffron-growing region of La Mancha had already been established under Moorish cultivation, and Andalusian cookbooks consistently prescribe both saffron and rosewater as the perfuming agents for fruit preparations. A pinch of ground cinnamon added with the sugar is a variant from the Catalan Moorish tradition and is entirely authentic. The syrup can also be frozen in ice cube trays for a granita-style frozen dessert: the apricot's acidity prevents a completely hard freeze, giving a soft, scoopable sherbet of considerable elegance.

The Gastrographer

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