As some
of you know, I grew up in England until I was about ten years old before moving
to my mother's native Jamaica. My first Christmas in JA was a bit of an
adjustment due to the heat, but one thing that helped to ease the transition
was this splendid Christmas drink called "Sorrel". The beverage is made from the sepals
of the sorrel plant and the earliest references to the plant in Jamaica
can be traced to the late 1600s and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The
vibrant, rich red of the sorrel petals, along with a generous helping of sugar
and rum combine to make a flavourful and refreshing Christmas treat. This year,
my mum is coming to visit me in Boston and no Jamaican Christmas is complete
without a glass or two (or twenty) of sorrel. So, I figured I'd
better get a move on! The recipe I'm using is one that was passed down from my
grandma to my mum and now to me; and it's absolutely delicious!
13 cups
of water
1/3 cup of crushed root ginger
1/3 cup of crushed root ginger
a handful
of cloves
a handful
of whole Jamaican All Spice (a.k.a pimento)
4
cinnamon sticks
3 - 4
cups of picked sorrel
1/2 cup
of Overproof White Rum (I use the traditional Wray & Nephew)
Granulated Sugar - sweeten to taste
Bring a large pot of water, approximately 13 cups, to a boil. Add ginger, cloves, all spice and cinnamon sticks. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add sorrel, cover and immediately remove from heat. Let it sit undisturbed, for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, strain the sorrel sepals and spices from the liquid, and sweeten the liquid to taste. Then stir in rum. Store the sorrel drink in bottles with a tight, secure lid, such as the ones below:
Serve cold, ice is optional. In Jamaica, it can be used as both the perfect drink to offer friends who popped by, or as the primary beverage for the family during Christmas dinner. [Fun Fact: Dropping a few grains of rice into the bottles before adding the sorrel drink can speed up the fermentation process. Some families even tuck away a few bottles for years and allow it to ferment into wine.]
So, how
about you? Do you celebrate Christmas? If so, let me know about some of your
favourite traditions. Regardless of what you're doing this holiday season or what you celebrate, I
hope that you have a wonderful time full of joy, laughter and love.
Happy
Holidays, from mine to yours!
- M. King
xxx
Thanks for these great and very helpful information about sorrel traditional jamaican. There's no Christmas in Jamaica without sorrel, a drink that is infused with ginger, sweetened with sugar and spiked with white overproof rum. It is as ubiquitous at Christmas time as rum cake, curried goat, and rice with pigeon peace. sparkling drink
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rohit! Glad you found it helpful :)
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