 A bottle of Italian orgeat syrup | |
| Type | Syrup |
|---|---|
| Flavour | Almond |
| Ingredients | Almonds, sugar, and rose water or orange flower water |
| Variants | Horchata |
| Related products | Falernum |
Orgeat syrup is a sweetsyrup made fromalmonds andsugar with a littlerose water and/ororange flower water. It was originally made with abarley-almond blend. It has a pronounced almond taste and is used to flavor manycocktails. Orgeat syrup is an important ingredient in theMai Tai and manyTiki drinks.[1][2][3]
An early recipe for orgeat can be found inThe English and Australian Cookery Book:[4]
Take a pound and a quarter of bitter almonds, and half a pound of sweet almonds, which have been blanched, nine pounds of loaf sugar, six pints of water, and the rinds of three lemons. Pound the almonds in a mortar with the sugar, and add the water a little by degrees; then put the mixture on the fire with the lemon-peel. After a boil pour off the syrup and press the almonds, to extract the milk; add this to the syrup, and strain the whole through a sieve. When cold add a little orange flower water, and bottle the mixture. The orgeat is used as a summer drink, mixed with water, according to taste.
Bitteralmonds as a general rule containcyanide and can be lethal in large quantities.[5] For this reason modern syrups generally are produced only from sweet almonds. Such syrup products do not contain significant levels ofhydrocyanic acid, so are generally considered safe for human consumption.[6]
The wordorgeat (/ɔːrˈʒɑː,ˈɔːrdʒiət,ˈɔːrʒɒt/) is derived from theLatinhordeaceus 'made withbarley' through theFrench, where barley is calledorge. TheCatalan wordorxata, from which derives theSpanishhorchata, has the same origin, though today the two drinks have little else in common and neither of them uses barley.
InTunisia andLibya, a variant is calledrozata and is usually served chilled in wedding and engagement parties as a symbol of joy and purity because of its white colour and its fresh (flowery) flavor. It comes in many different flavours, such as traditionalalmond,banana,mango,pistachio, among others.
InSuriname, there is a drink calledorgeade, which is a similarsyrup made ofsugar and sweet and bitter almonds.
Malteseruġġata is made of almond andvanilla essence and may includecinnamon andcloves.[7]
InCyprus and on theGreek islands ofChios andNisyros, a similar syrup is known assoumádha (Greek:σουμάδα). Soumada has a very ancient history at least in Cyprus, stretching back into the Roman period, and it was given as an exotic delicacy by KingPeter I of Cyprus toKing Casimir the Great of Poland at theCongress of Kraków, held in Poland in 1364.[8]
Media related toOrgeat syrup at Wikimedia Commons