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An Azerbaijani sherbet (şərbət) is a refreshing, cooling drink made from fruit or spices, sugar and water.
The word sherbet comes from the Persian sharbat, itself an adaptation of the Arabic for drink, sharab. Sherbet entered the English language as sorbet, which is now more of an iced dessert or palate cleanser than a drink. British readers of a certain age will remember the sherbet fountain, a fizzy powder sold in a cardboard tube with a piece of liquorice to suck it through. This is a distant relative of Azerbaijani sherbet, as the powder was originally intended to be mixed with water to create a drink. Caraway sherbet, which could more accurately be described as caraway and cardamom sherbet, is an unusual and refreshing drink.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
- 100 g/4 oz piece of sugar loaf or 100 g/4 oz granulated sugar
- 568 ml/1 pint water
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
- ice cubes
Preparation
- Grind the caraway seeds and cardamom pods with a pestle and mortar.
- Add the ground seeds to the boiling water and leave to infuse.
- Filter the sherbet.
- Add the sugar and stir well until it is all dissolved.
- Serve chilled or with ice cubes, according to taste.
