#sharbat

[fattributes]

Mohabbat ka Sharbat

[morethansalad]

Sharbat Sekanjebeen / Persian Mint & Vinegar Syrup Drink (Vegan)

[jeannereames]

Hello Dr. Reames, this may sound like a strange question, but do you know if Alexander ate an early, ancient version of ice cream? Because I believe that read somewhere that he liked to ice covered in honey and nectar. Do you know if this is actually recorded anywhere or if this is some sort of legend?

I suspect somebody is confusing much later Persian sorbet (sharbat, sherbert in English) with ice cream. Sorbet doesn't have milk in it, although it is a frozen (fruit) treat with sugar. Some is liquid, some (thicker) was eaten with a spoon. Yet it's medieval.

Was there some earlier version? I just don't know. I do know that snow was sometimes fetched from mountain tops to cool wine. There's even a piece of pottery just FOR that (pskyter). One below: you can see how that bottom part would fit into the krater (mixing bowl), just below that, so it rests on top. The snow goes in the top, and it cools the wine. But that's wine.

This is the eternal problem for authors, too, btw. WHEN did something appear on the scene? The amount of time I spent running down random shit for Dancing with the Lion.... I had to take out a line about cloves because they didn't have cloves yet, for instance. And the reverse happens. I've had folks complain about the boys using "the finger" as an insult as "too modern," because it seems that way. It's not. Ancient pottery shows Greeks giving each other the finger. Ha.

Back to sorbet: it may appear in the Alexander Romance (I don't remember), but the Romance is centuries later. This is similar to "lemons" popping up in ancient Greece and Rome. They didn't have lemons. The citron was found in Persia...but that's not a lemon. It's the precursor to modern citrus. While some earlier work suggested Alexander brought back the citron (and I'm sure he probably ate one), we now think it was spread into the Mediterranean with migrating Jews, for sukkot. Same thing with apricots. Apricots were native to Anatolia. It's highly likely there were some dried apricot imports earlier, but apricot trees are later.

Trade is, actually, a very interesting aspect of history, and had a LOT to do with alliances and wars, and who had power. Consider the influence of "little" Portugal--due to trade connections. Whole cities (emporia) were built purely for trade. I think, towards the end of his life, Alexander was finally starting to understand the power of trade. ;-)

[awkward-sultana]

Magnificent Century Season 1 + Food

[picochupi]

Some more of my babies! 

They are all part of something that I’m excited to be doing! 

[lotida]

Friend asked me to make “The Afghan Girl” or  Sharbat Gula, so I did my best, I tried for like an hour to recolor something but my game wasn’t having it, so this is the best I got, hope y’all like it.

[looney-unicorn]

Rose flavoured milk with pistachio and cardamon AKA sharbat. The ultimate drink.

[asweethistory]

Sharbat/Sherbet

Apricot Sherbet with Cherry Pomegranate Hibiscus Molasses and Pistachios 

Ice cream has its origins in a Middle Eastern drink known as sharbat (Persian) and serbet (Turkish). This fruity and floral drink, which was served over ice or snow, was described as being "so mixed that the sour and the sweet were as equally balanced as the blessings and miseries of life." Common flavors in the Middle East were pomegranate, lemon, citron, cherry, and sweet flowers. As the frozen beverage traveled to Europe, additional flavors appeared such as strawberry, apricot, and pistachio. 

The word sharbat traveled to Italy at the end of the 16th century to describe the Middle Eastern beverage. A solid frozen fruit mixture was created in Italy and became known as sorbetto. In France, the dessert was called sorbet. In England, milk was added to the frozen fruit mixture and it was called sherbet. Today we still use the word sherbet to describe a frozen dessert made with fruit and milk, while sorbet describes a frozen fruit dessert without the addition of milk and of course ice cream comprises mostly dairy.