Solbærtoddy

the Norwegian hot blackcurrant toddy: home-made solbærsaft made up with boiling water, sharpened with lemon and warmed with honey, ginger, and a stick of cinnamon, given for a cold and carried in the thermos

Origin: Norway

From the journey of Currant.

Norwegian calls the blackcurrant the solbær, the sun berry, and treats it above all as a drink. Solbærsaft, the sweetened concentrate boiled and bottled at the end of the summer, stands in the cupboard of practically every Norwegian household, and solbærtoddy is what happens to it when the weather turns: the syrup made up with boiling rather than cold water, taken in a mug with both hands. It occupies a particular and slightly medical place in Norwegian domestic life. It is what a child is given for a cold or a sore throat, and the belief behind that is entirely sound, since the blackcurrant carries several times the vitamin C of an orange and the drink is warm, sweet, and soothing besides. It is also what waits in the thermos at the top of a ski track or the end of a winter walk, and it is sold at every stall at a Christmas market alongside the gløgg. Adults add a measure of rum or aquavit and call it a toddy in earnest; the word itself came into Norwegian from English in the nineteenth century and originally meant precisely that, spirit with hot water and sugar.

Ingredients

200 ml blackcurrant cordial (solbærsaft), undiluted
800 ml water
1 whole lemon, half juiced and half cut into slices
2 tbsp runny honey, or to taste
15 g fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 whole cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
120 ml dark rum or aquavit (optional, for an adult toddy)

Method

Put the water, the sliced ginger, the cinnamon stick, and the cloves in a pan. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes to draw out the spice.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the blackcurrant cordial, the lemon juice, and the honey until the honey has dissolved.
Cover and leave to stand for 3 minutes, then strain out the spices. Add the rum or aquavit at this point if you are making the adult version.
Warm the mugs with hot water and empty them. Pour in the toddy, drop a slice of lemon into each, and serve at once, hot enough to hold in both hands but not to scald.
For the thermos, make the toddy a little stronger than you want it, strain it, and pour it in whilst near boiling; it will be at drinking temperature after an hour outdoors.

Notes

The quality of the cordial decides the drink entirely, so use a home-made solbærsaft if you have one, or a good blackcurrant cordial with a high fruit content rather than a squash. In an emergency, and this is a common Norwegian shortcut, four tablespoons of blackcurrant jam whisked into a litre of boiling water and strained will do the same work. The spices are a matter of household preference: many families use nothing but the cordial, hot water, and a slice of lemon, and the plainest version is arguably the best when someone is genuinely unwell. The Swedish equivalent is made with svartvinbärssaft in precisely the same way, and the Danish is solbærtoddy under the same name.

The Gastrographer

Name: Solbærtoddy
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Norway
Ingredients: 200 ml blackcurrant cordial (solbærsaft), undiluted; 800 ml water; 1 whole lemon, half juiced and half cut into slices; 2 tbsp runny honey, or to taste; 15 g fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 whole cinnamon stick; 3 whole cloves; 120 ml dark rum or aquavit (optional, for an adult toddy)

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control