Sharbat Bortokal Recipe-February 2024-www.zdask.com

　　This is very sweet, but it is a syrup and not to be compared to orange juice. We used the smallish, slightly acid oranges with thin skins for this, but now that we have bottled freshly squeezed orange juice, that is what we use. Dilute 2 tablespoons in a glass of iced water.

Ingredients

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

　　3 cups sugar

　　Juice of 1/2 lemon

Step 1

Pour the orange juice into a pan. Add sugar and lemon juice, and bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches the boiling point.

Step 2

Cool, and pour into thoroughly washed bottles. Serve diluted with ice-cold water.

　　Cooks' Note

　　If you wish to store the syrup for a long time, here is a traditional method for preserving it. Grate the rind of 1 or 2 oranges, then squeeze it through a piece of fine muslin. Float a teaspoon of this oily “zest” at the top of each bottle. It will act as a perfect protection. Before using the syrup, remove the oily crust with the point of a knife.