Persian Sherbet, Strawberry, Lemon and Orange-Flower Water from 1924
Reader ratingsRipe strawberries mashed and left on ice for four hours with lemon, lemon-rubbed sugar, orange-flower water and cold water, then strained: an alcohol-free sherbet from a 1924 London book of home drinks.
- Recipe makes
- About 850 ml, 5 glasses
- Prep
- Total
Includes 4 hours for the strawberries to steep in the fridge.
Persian Sherbet over ice in a tall glass, beside a dish of strawberries and half a lemon.
The story behind the recipe
Persian Sherbet is a cold strawberry drink made without heat: ripe strawberries mashed in a bowl with lemon juice, lemon-scented sugar, a teaspoon of orange-flower water and a pint of cold water, left on ice for four hours and strained. M. E. Steedman and C. Herman Senn printed it in 1924 in Home-Made Summer and Winter Drinks, a London book for the home, among its summer and soft drinks. Its full title promises “Cups, Liqueurs, Cocktails, and Invalid Drinks” as well, so the soft drinks share their pages with the bar and the sickroom.
A sherbet you drink
In old British cookbooks a sherbet is a sweet, cold fruit drink, not the frozen dessert the word means in America today. The book gives no reason for “Persian,” so we leave the name as it stands. What it does give is time: “Let it all stand on ice for 4 hours, stirring occasionally, then strain and serve.” The strawberries give up their juice and color to the cold water while they sit.
Read more about this recipe
The lemon in the sugar
The lemon comes in twice. Half its juice goes into the bowl, and its rind is rubbed with lumps of loaf sugar until the sugar takes up the oil from the peel, a period way of getting lemon scent without bitter pith. The same book takes flavor from the peel for its fresh orangeade too, steeping orange rind in hot syrup, and the 1922 Rose Cocktail pairs strawberries with orange-flower water too, shaken to order at a bar. Both belong with the soft drinks of Five Alcohol-Free Drinks for a 1920s Party.
Recipe makes: About 850 ml, 5 glasses
Ingredients
For About 850 ml, 5 glasses. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for About 850 ml, 5 glasses.
- Ripe strawberries, hulled340 g
- Lemon1
- Sugar170 g
- Orange-flower water1 metric tsp (5 ml per tsp)
- Cold water570 ml
- Ice cubes, to serve
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 340 g ripe strawberries, hulled
- 1 lemon
- 170 g sugar
- 1 tsp orange-flower water
- 570 ml cold water
- Ice cubes, to serve
Equipment
Large bowl
Potato masher
Fine sieve
Jug
Tall glass
Instructions
Mash the ripe strawberries in a large bowl with a potato masher or fork until they are pulpy.
Put the sugar in a small bowl. Finely grate the zest of the lemon over it and rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips for a minute, until the sugar is damp and smells of lemon.
Squeeze the juice of half the lemon into the strawberries. Add the lemon sugar, the orange-flower water and the cold water, and stir until the sugar starts to dissolve.
Cover the bowl and chill it in the fridge for 4 hours, stirring now and then.
Strain through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing the fruit lightly but not forcing it through.
Pour into tall glasses over ice cubes and serve the same day.
Nutrition
160calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- About 850 ml, 5 glasses
- Servings
- 5
Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for strawberries, sugar and lemon juice, for five 170 ml glasses.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
This is the book’s full batch. Halve or double every ingredient; the steeping time stays the same.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the batch.
The book’s pint is the British one, about 570 ml, and its ¾ lb of strawberries is about 340 g. Loaf sugar came in hard lumps that were rubbed on the lemon and then pounded; grating the zest into granulated sugar does the same job. The drink is sweet as printed: for a lighter one, start with 120 g sugar, our option. Thawed frozen strawberries work, though the book asks for ripe fresh ones. Culinary orange-flower water is made without alcohol, but check the label.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; glassware, ice and timings need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
M. E. Steedman and C. Herman Senn, Home-Made Summer and Winter Drinks, new edition (London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1924), p. 31, “Persian Sherbet”
Recipe details
- Drink
- Alcohol-freeMocktail
- Drink family
- Sodas & Soft Drinks
- Region
- British
- Era
- Jazz Age
- Source decade
- 1920s
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Occasion
- Summer party
- Season
- Summer