I am racking up quite the number of stamps in my culinary passport this week! Just coming from Greece yesterday with my Pastitsio, I wasn't fully prepared for a jet set trip to Ethiopia today, but I did want to join Joan and her Foodalogue travel mates for a quick drink in Ethiopia before heading back to France tomorrow. After all, Joan is traveling virtually through food of different countries to raise awareness for Bloggeraid and the World Food Programme, which are both great organizations looking to raise awareness of hunger issues throughout the world. It is worth a little jet lag when it benefits a worthy cause!
This recipe comes from a cookbook called Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin. He explains that this is a popular drink in Ethiopian Muslim households as it has no alcohol in it and is what he describes as "very healthy". I was unsure WHY it needed to be left on the counter for two days. My first thought was that perhaps it would ferment (but then it wouldn't be popular with those abstaining from alcohol). It did not ferment, but was very refreshing and sweet. It tasted exactly like...honey and water! Imagine that!
Birz (Honey Mixed with Water) from Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin
Ingredients:
1/2 c. pure honey
6 c. soda water or plain water
Directions:
1. Put 1/2 c. honey in a jug. Add the 6 c. of water and stir to dissolve the honey completely. Leave for two days at room temperature. Refrigerate or add ice to the jug before serving. Keep refrigerated.
15 comments:
Interesting. Do you know what leaving it out at room temp does?
That's different...did you try it?
That sounds so strange!! But I love honey...
simple, typical...but I prefer a glass of wine :). Thanks for continuing the journey with me!!!
You must have a fast jet dear :)
I just ordered three books, and the one you recommended!
It sounds really refreshing to us. We'd be tempted to squeeze a wee bit of lemon juice in it though...
I don't know how you do it with two boys and all the amazing recipes you try and post. Cheers girl!!
This is quite interesting especially that it need to be store for 2 days before you can drink it.
wow this is different and easy!!
can i cheat with agave nectar?? it's arguably more nutritious and dissolves perfectly in cold water =D
huh...honestly, it just sounds kind of bizarre. I wonder if the "room temperature for 2 days" has anything to do with water purification?
When I visited Morocco, in the poorer areas, people would put bleach in their water and let it sit out for a couple days. This allowed the bleach to evaporate and helped purify the water. I stuck to the bottled stuff ;)
So easy! Was it a particular type of honey (i.e. clover)? There's a great apiary/honey producer nearby who's honeys are flavored naturally depending on where their bees are located. It would be interesting to try different ones in this manner!
Although people are mostly muslims in Turkey, this is not a common drink. But we sometimes prepare it for our children. Just to get them have some honey in this way if they don't like eating it plain. And I have no idea about waiting it for two days.
sounds like a fun thing to do, eating and drinking around the world~
How interesting, I love Ethiopian food, I'll have to try this. Did you do it with soda water or regular? I would think after two days the carbonation is gone. A lot of things I read say that birz does ferment, but the alcohol content is pretty much nil.
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