flipSweet Barley Beer with Honey and Date
Sweet Barley Beer with Honey and Date
Why this dish? Nefertiti drank a fine beer, the national beverage of ancient Egypt, served in gold and faience cups at her table. Palace beer was clearer, sweeter, and more fragrant than workers' beer — sweetened with honey and date.
A cloudy, low-alcohol drink, both refreshing and nourishing, scented with date and honey. Closer to a sweet brew than our modern beers.
Lift this cup, stranger: here is the beer of my table. We draw it from barley and bread, as the children of the Nile have always done, but in my palace we want it clear and sweet. My cupbearers mix in date and honey, then pour it into gold and faience. Drink without fear — it is the beverage that nourishes as much as it quenches, from the laborer to the Great Royal Wife.
- •Half-baked barley bread — several loaves (fermentation base)
- •Germinated barley (malt) — one measure (fermentable sugars)
- •Dates — a scattering (sweetness and wild yeast)
- •Honey — a drizzle (sweetness)
- •Nile water — a jar (liquid)
Sweet Barley Beer with Honey and Date
A cloudy, low-alcohol drink, both refreshing and nourishing, scented with date and honey. Closer to a sweet brew than our modern beers.
Why this dish? Nefertiti drank a fine beer, the national beverage of ancient Egypt, served in gold and faience cups at her table. Palace beer was clearer, sweeter, and more fragrant than workers' beer — sweetened with honey and date.
Lift this cup, stranger: here is the beer of my table. We draw it from barley and bread, as the children of the Nile have always done, but in my palace we want it clear and sweet. My cupbearers mix in date and honey, then pour it into gold and faience. Drink without fear — it is the beverage that nourishes as much as it quenches, from the laborer to the Great Royal Wife.
Ingredients (period version)
- Half-baked barley bread — several loaves (fermentation base)
- Germinated barley (malt) — one measure (fermentable sugars)
- Dates — a scattering (sweetness and wild yeast)
- Honey — a drizzle (sweetness)
- Nile water — a jar (liquid)
Ingredients
- Barley bread or wholemeal bread — 300 g (fermentation base)
- Crushed barley malt (or malt extract) — 150 g (fermentable sugars)
- Pitted dates — 100 g (sweetness and flavor)
- Honey — 2 tbsp (sweetness)
- Water — 2 liters (liquid)
- Baker's yeast — 1 packet (fermentation)
Method
- Crumble the bread and soak in warm water with the malt and crushed dates.
- Let infuse for 2 hours, then strain through a cloth, pressing well.
- Add honey and yeast to the warm liquid (not hot).
- Cover with a cloth and let ferment for 2 to 3 days at room temperature, tasting daily.
- Strain a second time and refrigerate; consume quickly.
- Serve cool, cloudy, in a cup — shake gently before pouring.
How it was made : Beer (henqet) was made from barely baked barley loaves, crumbled and fermented in water. Very nourishing, low in alcohol, it was drunk by all and used in wages. Residue analysis of jars confirms the use of dates to sweeten and start fermentation. Note: it was an opaque, thick drink, sipped through a straw by workers, in filtered cups at the palace.
The contemporary twist : Serve 'Nile Brew' style in a turquoise glazed cup, with a split date resting on the rim.
Sources : Delwen Samuel, "Investigation of Ancient Egyptian Baking and Brewing Methods", Science (1996) · Pierre Tallet, La cuisine des pharaons (Actes Sud, 2015)
Nefertiti · Charactorium
