Sharbat-e goláb — Rose Syrup with Cool Water
A syrup perfumed with rose water, diluted with very cool water and brightened with a dash of lemon juice or mild vinegar. A welcome drink and remedy against heat in traditional Persian medicine, where the rose is considered "cooling."
A syrup perfumed with rose water, diluted with very cool water and brightened with a dash of lemon juice or mild vinegar. A welcome drink and remedy against heat in traditional Persian medicine, where the rose is considered "cooling."
Drink, traveler, for the sun of 'Akká does not forgive. See this water into which I have poured the rose syrup: our sages say the rose cools the blood and soothes the heated soul. A tear of lemon juice gives it its edge, and the well water its freshness. May this glass be for you like a garden offered to the prisoner — a little sweetness that no wall can chain.
- •Rose water (goláb of Kashan) — a dash (signature fragrance)
- •Sugar — for the syrup (sweetness, preservation)
- •Lemon juice or mild vinegar — a few drops (acidity)
- •Cool water — as needed (dilution)
Sharbat-e goláb — Rose Syrup with Cool Water
A syrup perfumed with rose water, diluted with very cool water and brightened with a dash of lemon juice or mild vinegar. A welcome drink and remedy against heat in traditional Persian medicine, where the rose is considered "cooling."
Why this dish? Rose water from Kashan perfumes all Persian culture, and rose sharbat was renowned for cooling the body and soothing the heart in the heat. In the swelter of 'Akká, the maritime prison of the Ottoman Empire where Bahá'u'lláh was held, such a tempering drink made perfect sense — both remedy and gesture of welcome.
Drink, traveler, for the sun of 'Akká does not forgive. See this water into which I have poured the rose syrup: our sages say the rose cools the blood and soothes the heated soul. A tear of lemon juice gives it its edge, and the well water its freshness. May this glass be for you like a garden offered to the prisoner — a little sweetness that no wall can chain.
Ingredients (period version)
- Rose water (goláb of Kashan) — a dash (signature fragrance)
- Sugar — for the syrup (sweetness, preservation)
- Lemon juice or mild vinegar — a few drops (acidity)
- Cool water — as needed (dilution)
Ingredients
- Sugar — 200 g (syrup)
- Water — 200 ml (for syrup) + cool water for serving (base)
- Food-grade rose water — 3–4 tbsp (fragrance)
- Lemon juice — 1 tbsp (acidity, balance)
- Ice cubes and edible rose petals (optional) — for serving (presentation)
Method
- Prepare a syrup: gently heat 200 g sugar in 200 ml water until dissolved, simmer 5 min, then cool.
- Off the heat and once lukewarm, stir in rose water (heat evaporates its fragrance) and lemon juice.
- Store this mother syrup in a clean bottle in the fridge.
- To serve: pour 2–3 tbsp syrup into a glass, dilute with very cold water, stir.
- Add ice cubes and a few rose petals, serve immediately.
How it was made : Sharbats (from which our word "sorbet" comes) are fruit or floral syrups diluted in water, sometimes chilled with snow brought down from mountains and stored in ice houses (yakhchál). Persian humoral medicine classified foods as "hot" or "cold": the rose, "cold," was prescribed against excess body heat.
The contemporary twist : Serve it as a non-alcoholic spritz over crushed ice, with a veil of crystallized petals and lemon zest, under the name "Garden of 'Akká."
Sources : Najmieh Batmanglij, Food of Life · Margaret Shaida, The Legendary Cuisine of Persia
Bahá'u'lláh · Charactorium