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Epicurious

Sharbat Bortokal

This is very sweet, but it is a syrup and not to be compared to orange juice. We used the smallish, slightly acid oranges with thin skins for this, but now that we have bottled freshly squeezed orange juice, that is what we use. Dilute 2 tablespoons in a glass of iced water.

Cooks' Note

If you wish to store the syrup for a long time, here is a traditional method for preserving it. Grate the rind of 1 or 2 oranges, then squeeze it through a piece of fine muslin. Float a teaspoon of this oily “zest” at the top of each bottle. It will act as a perfect protection. Before using the syrup, remove the oily crust with the point of a knife.

Ingredients

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
3 cups sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pour the orange juice into a pan. Add sugar and lemon juice, and bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches the boiling point.

    Step 2

    Cool, and pour into thoroughly washed bottles. Serve diluted with ice-cold water.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
TagsCold DrinkBeveragesMiddle EasternOrangeCitrusFruitLemonMake AheadCookbooks
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