Keisha Shakespeare, Staff Reporter
CHRISTMAS IS a time to be jolly and without sorrel Hark the Herald Angels will probably not sing. Sorrel over the years has been a major part of Christmas festivity. And recently the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica (SRC) has found out that sorrel is not just a mere Christmas drink but it
has nutritional values.
The key to having the perfect glass of sorrel lies in the preparation. Some like it with a little rum and wine added while others like it with ginger only. Whatever your preference, sorrel is the perfect drink at Christmas. In fact, sorrel has been appearing in markets since September. And with the new development from the SRC, sorrel can be found all year round.
Jamaicans take sorrel very seriously and many like to take a bottle or two of sorrel that has been preserved from the previous year, out of storage. Also, in the rural regions it is traditional for neighbours to go from door to door and have a glass of sorrel accompanied by a slice of Christmas cake or pudding.
For housewife Celia Shakespeare, Christmas is not the same without sorrel. In fact, she always keeps a few bottles stashed away until the next year. Mrs. Shakespeare said when preparing sorrel it is important to choose sorrels that are fresh and have a bright red colour.
Mrs. Shakespeare's sorrel preparation method:
1. Grate ginger and juice then put it aside.
2. Wash sorrel then add to boiling water. Turn off stove and leave for three to four hours.
3. After sorrel is cooled, add ginger juice, sugar (granulated preferably as it better brings out the rich red colour of the sorrel), rum and wine.
4. If you are going to serve right away just add ice but if you want to keep it for a few days add some rice grains to help preserve it and store in a cool place.
5. The beauty of sorrel is that it can be stored for a very long period even up to a year. The trick is adding rice grains, pimento seeds, rum and wine but do not sweeten then store in a cool place.
Sorrel and Ginger drink
1 oz dried sorrel
3 inch cinnamon stick
1 orange
6 cloves
1 tbs. peeled and chopped
fresh root ginger
1 lb sugar
3 pint boiling water
6 tbs. Appellation (optional)
Cracked ice
METHOD
1. Remove the zest from the orange with a zester or peel it off carefully and cut into shreds with a knife.
2. In a large, non-reactive container, put all the ingredients except the boiling water and rum.
3. Pour the boiling water over, cover and allow to steep overnight.
4. Strain and add rum (optional). If using rum, adjust the strength to your liking.
5. Served with cracked ice.
- Recipe taken from 'Eat Caribbean' by Virginia Burke
WE WANT SORREL ANY WAY ANY HOW
Let's Taste Your Sorrel!
We cannot imagine Christmas time in Jamaica without it. And neither can you, so you took up the challenge and after careful selection, here are the three
finalists in Food's So-Real, So-Real Sorrel Recipe Contest. They are Lorna Wilson with her recipe for Sorrel Fruit Cake; Dorrit Brown's Sorrel Jam, Colette Thompson-Garrick's Sorrel Christmas Pudding and Juley Wynter Robertson's Sorrel Fool and Sorrel Sauce.
The final showdown takes place at The Jamaica Gleaner on Monday November 28 when finalists bring their recipes and finished products for our judges to pass final verdict.
