Lebanese Cuisine - Beverages

Beverages:  Lebanese coffee is strong and includes cardamom, served in tiny cups. Arak, an aniseed-flavored traditional drink served mixed with ice and water. Sharab El-Ward: Red Rosewater Cordial.

Lebanese Cuisine - Vine & Wine

The history of wine in Lebanon is nearly as old as the history of the land itself. The Canaanites worshipped Baal, the god “who gives rain”, who was venerated with wine- the primary symbol of potency. The Phoenicians later transported their wine in earthenware amphorae across the Mediterranean. After the Roman conquest, the greatest temple to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, was built at Baalbeck and the Romans hailed Levantine wine as the finest in the world. And in the Bible story of John chapter two, Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Khan al Jalil in what is today southern Lebanon. The modern-day Lebanese continue their ancestral traditions. In the western Bekaa Valley, there are hundreds hectare vineyards planted with noble varieties, such as Carignan, Grenache, Cinsaut, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Bourboulenc, Semilon, Chardonnay, Clairette, Syrah, Merlot and Mourvedre, from which, world-class wineries produce award-winning wines.

The soil is less fertile, stony and barren, which is the best for vines. Furthermore, at a thousand meters high, the vines are exposed to permanent sun for six to seven months each year. Humidity is good for the vines because their roots nourish themselves as far as five meters in depth.

Many methods are used to grow the vines. One involves curving them into circle, which then protects them from the heat. Another, used frequently in the West, is to secure the vines on aluminum strings. The life span for vine is 50 years. After the 45^th year the quality of the grape is better but the vine’s production starts decreasing rapidly. Eventually the better quality and the less production must be balanced and the old vine is replaced after around 50 years.

Wine: Wine production is done in three steps: fermentation, storage and bottling. Kefraya’s winery, one of the largest producers of wine in Lebanon, produces white, rose and red wines, and has won many awards. The Chateau Musar, is the smallest producer but with the greatest reputation for quality. Ksara, another large producer, is famous for using the Roman caves as wine natural cellars, producing many varieties of wines of which 50% are red.

Arak: The true spirit of Lebanon.  Lebanese arak is a brandy, produced by distilling fermented grape juice in much the same way as the finest Cognacs but with the additional flavoring of aniseed (also called anis). arak has been made in one form or another for centuries and has long been associated with the Orient. In many regards, `arak is not dissimilar to pastis, absinthe and Greece’s oozo, all of which are powerful aniseed-flavored spirits originating from the Mediterranean. `arak, and indeed all aniseed-flavored drinks, develop a milky opacity with the addition of water. The reason for this phenomenon is that aniseed produces a chemical called ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which seeps into the spirit. When water is added, ethanol reacts chemically and consequently the drink acquires a whitish opaque color.  `arak is not merely a pleasant aperitif, but captures a way of life and a timeless tradition that could be said, without any ambiguity, to be the spirit of Lebanon.

Rose Water. The sweet smell of Lebanese blossoms    Rose water is a distinctly traditional Lebanese product, which has for generations, been a Southern specialty. It is exported throughout the Middle East, where it is highly appreciated.  New comers should be aware that the term ‘rose water’ does not necessarily mean that the product is made from roses. The Arabic term for it, mashara, is used to refer to anything that grows on a plant especially the blossoms. The rose water the visitor is most likely to come across is made from a particular type of bitter orange, the abusfayr; Roses are also used in the production of maward. Zhourat is a generic term for cordials made for cooking of as medicines. All these portions are made using karaki, a form of distillation.

Karaki involves the placing of the freshly picked blossoms or buds into water. The water is boiled and passed through tubes where it condenses and is allowed to cool. The cooled water is left in the sun for two to three weeks where it reduces to syrup. This is then bottled and will keep without artificial preservatives for 2 to 3 years, although the fragrance may have lessened after a year. The picking of the correct buds is also very important. In the case of the abusfare, the orange buds have to be just the right size – too small or too large will not do, and the correct time for picking lasts only for three weeks during Spring. Production is still very much a family business, and for those involved, especially in the villages of Maghdoushe in the South and Amioun in the North, this time of the year is full of bustling activity. Rose water is famous as an essential ingredient in Lebanese, and indeed Arabic, sweets. A few drops added at the crucial moment give Lebanese sweets their distinctive delicious flavor. The bitter oranges produced by the abusfare are used in cooking. One famous recipe combines the fruit with mandarins, lemon, and the more common types of orange, to make a rich sauce as an accompaniment to rice as a main course, served with kibbe.

´Sharab Al-Tout…Lebanon’s traditional thirst quencher          It is one of Lebanon’s most traditional drinks. Unlike arak or wine, mulberry syrup is non-alcoholic and is one of the few existing reminders of a distant era in Lebanese history. At the turn of the century, Lebanon was known for its prodigious silk industry. Silk worms that were kept in special farms in the mountains produced the precious material, which boosted Lebanese trade at the time. These silk worms had to feed exclusively on mulberry leaves in order to mature properly and produce high-quality silk. As a result, assisted by the ideal Lebanese climate and a fertile soil, mulberry production flourished. Mulberries were planted everywhere in Lebanon from the coast to the high mountain peaks, despite many claims that higher the fruit is planted, the tastier it will be. A few villages, such as Bhamdoun and Shabaa’, now have a reputation for their delicious mulberries that stretched back to the days of silk production. The mulberry season traditionally extended from the middle of June to the end of August when the valuable mulberry leaves needed for the silk were harvested and separated from the mother fruit. The short life span of the mulberry meant that an efficient way of preservation had to be found; hence the creation of sharab al-tout. 

The making of sharab al-tout became a yearly ritual paralleling the silk harvest. As soon as the mulberries were separated from the leaves, the ripe fruits were squeezed and then, in turn, isolated from the seeds and other sediment.

After the squeezing process is over, the final solution is mixed with sugar and left to boil for some time. Still warm, the syrup is poured into bottles and jars and kept in storage for the year.

Today, despite the disappearance of the silk farms, sharab al-tout has lost none of its magic.