Damascus-Sana
The popular Ramadan drinks this year maintained their place among those fasting, adding a distinct touch to the Iftar tables of Damascenes throughout the holy month.
In one of the old Damascus markets in the Al-Midan neighborhood, the “Jazmatiyyah Market”, the brothers Samer and Amer Daoud are pursuing their profession that they inherited from their father 30 years ago, which is the manufacture of Ramadan drinks and natural juices, which they are famous for their mastery of the fact that they do not add any dyes or colors to them, which made their production a destination for many fasting people. Who come from different regions.
Licorice, tamarind, julep and lemon are the most popular drinks in the month of Ramadan, according to Amer’s hadith to Sana, indicating that these drinks have a special taste and some of them are sweet, which makes them popular drinks for those who are fasting after a long day of fasting, especially on hot days.
Amer describes licorice drink as a drink that "quenches the thirst of the fasting person" and helps endure thirst during the hot hours of the day, in addition to its important benefits for human health, explaining the method of making it by saying: "We put dry licorice with adding a little water with soda carbonate added to avoid bloating, then stir it well with the hands. Until it mixes well with the water, then comes the fermentation process, where licorice is placed in a sunny place for a period ranging from 20 to 30 minutes, and after it dries, the mixture is placed in a gauze cloth and left in the fridge for several hours, after which it is placed under drops of water and finally the fallen licorice points are collected. .
Amer added: The tamarind, which is in the form of molds from dried dates, is prepared by soaking it in warm water until the mold disintegrates, then we put it in a colander underneath a bowl and pour the water over it gradually and rub and squeeze well, then it is filtered to get rid of the impurities in it, the seeds and sweetened With sugar, with the addition of a little blossom water.
As for jellab, it consists of raisin molasses, black grapes extracted from seeds, with incense and finely ground nuts, and put the mixture on the fire and leave until its consistency thickens, so we get condensed jellab, add water and sugar with the orchid, and put some nuts for decoration.
Amer continues his speech by explaining the method of preparing lemon juice that gives a feeling of freshness, saying: We cut the lemon and a few oranges to "give the juice a distinctive color" and rub them with the hands by adding a little water and sugar until the ingredients are homogeneous and then put in the refrigerator.
Amer says: I feel happy when I prepare drinks and forget the fatigue of the whole day, just by hearing the words of satisfaction from customers about our juices, as the prices of Ramadan drinks match the purchasing power of most citizens despite the high prices that the markets have witnessed in recent years.
According to Amer, the price of a bag packed with 1.5 liters of licorice juice is 1000 Syrian pounds, each of tamarind juice and lemon juice packed with 1.5 liters costs 2500, while julep juice packed with 1.5 liters costs 2000 pounds.
Brothers Samer and Amer are proud of this ancient and popular profession that they inherited from their father, as they strive to provide drinks with a high level of quality and pay attention to the cleanliness of the place and its arrangement to be in an elegant manner that attracts fasting people.
Nour Youssef
