Since I live in an extremely hot place, where temperatures are hardly below 35 ºC, (although in the month of December they usually drop to 30 ºC or even lower, but for a short period of time); then I would be lying if I said that here we consume hot drinks for Christmas, such as punches or spiced wines, although we do drink a punch that does not have any medicinal plant and is based on eggs and milk. We also have a drink called "carato", which is made with corn, papelón (brown sugar) and sweet spices, such as guayabita, cloves, anise, cinnamon. But, I wanted to make a drink, which although it is not traditional, since I have invented it today, that is, I had never seen it before nor had I consumed it, it is similar to another traditional Venezuelan drink, which is typical of these holidays as is the "guarapita" which is made from fruit juices and a white cane liquor. But what I bring today I have named STARRY CHRISTMAS SPRITZER.
Preparation time: The whole process, approximately 1 hour.
Servings: You get a good 500 ml drink, and there is syrup left over to make another similar drink.
500 grams of yellow or starred currants.
250 grams of white sugar.
50 ml of liqueur (I used Venezuelan rum).
200 ml of soda or sparkling water.
Ice to taste, (I used 200 grams).
Mint or lemon balm leaves, in my case I used lemon balm (Lippia alba), because my mint plant died, they are very delicate.
1 teaspoon of salt to extract the acid from the fruits.
½ teaspoon of baking soda, to disinfect the leaves.
400 ml of water to obtain the syrup.
Enough water to wash and rinse the fruits and leaves of lemon balm.
Pots, pitchers, spoons, strainer, long or tall glass, shaker (I used a drink stirrer, I don't have a shaker), etc.
THE PROCESS
In my backyaard I can harvest some of the ingredients for this preparation, such as yellow currants and lemon balm leaves. Here you can see that from two branches, I got 2.1 kg of fruits. I harvested the leaves directly from the plant.
From the harvested fruit, I extract 500 grams, which I proceed to boil in salted water for 5-10 minutes. This procedure is essential, since the acids in yellow currants are so corrosive that they can damage tooth enamel. Once boiled, I strain them and rinse them in plenty of fresh water.
Once the currants are rinsed, I add 400 ml of water and 250 grams of white sugar, and put them to cook over medium-high heat, stirring from time to time, until the liquid is reduced by half and acquires a strong pink color, (approximately 20 minutes). This is how I obtain the syrup that is a fundamental part of this recipe and gives it its name..
While the syrup is being made, I disinfect the lemon balm leaves, for which I wash them with fresh water to remove the dust, and then soak them in clean water with baking soda for 20 minutes. Then I rinse them well and set aside.
To prepare the drink, I proceed to place the ice in the glass, then I add 100 ml of the syrup obtained from the yellow currants, then I add 50 ml of rum, 3 lemon balm leaves and stir well so that the leaves expel their smell and flavor in the drink; and finally the soda; I proceed to stir and it is ready to taste. If we use a cocktail shaker we can place the ingredients in the same order.
Now then, why did I choose these two medicinal plants to make this drink? Well, the reason for that is, firstly because they are both DELICIOUS, and secondly because they offer certain benefits to the human body, for example:
Lemon balm is a good digestive, which in this festive season is very useful, especially after Christmas dinner.
Yellow or star currant favors the elimination of toxins from our body and there is a belief that it can prevent cancer. Although I have not written about it, I have some friends, who are of Arab nationality, who love this fruit and use it to treat problems related to the urinary and respiratory systems. In fact, one of them is a bladder cancer survivor, and he strongly believes that by eating these currants, he eliminates the possibility of a recurrence. His wife also says that this plant helps her to expel some polyps that form recurrently in her sinuses. They both eat this fruit either raw or lightly cooked. For me in particular it is very favorable as a diuretic, because my frequency and volume of urination are increased, that is to say, it does have a depurative effect on the organism.
So, you have the reasons to have chosen both plants for this Christmas drink.
As for the taste of this spritzer, it is simply AMAZING AND DELICIOUS. I invite you to make your own version, either with or without alcohol, varying the liquor and the fruits to obtain the syrup and also the proportion of ingredients. I highly recommend it.
Here I end my post today, of which I sincerely feel very happy, since I have created something that is 100% original, unique and exquisite. Greetings, I hope you have a beautiful and Happy Holidays.
Image sources
These photos are my own, and were taken with a Xiomi REDMI 8 A phone
The dividers used are courtesy of @eve66 who shares beautiful designs that embellish the layout of our post.
In case it is required to use the content or images of this post and of my other publications, I would appreciate if you could refer to my authorship (Fabiola Martínez) and cite the corresponding link. Thanks.
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Exciting! Such a detailed description of the procedure, much appreciated!
I loved the photos from your backyard! Today we had the first really cold winter day, so it was nice to feel the summer through your yard :)
Ohh, what a beautiful comment! I love that you like my backyard, it is a very special place for me. I hope also that you can drink some punch that will make your days warm. Merry Christmas!
Enjoy your beautiful yarn!!!Merry Christmas to you too dear @sirenahippie!
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It is wonderful my friend, medicine like this Is good for the body. I like the way you explained the process you used. You made it look easy.
Hi! Yes @samostically, you're right, this medicine it's so good, hahahaha. I'm glad you liked it. Cheers!
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Nice view
Oh yes! Cheers!
it feels fresh to Indonesia my friend @sirenahippie 🥰🥰🥰
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Pienso que sus amigos tienen mucha fe y es lo que hace el milagro por decirlo así , el cáncer es una enfermedad tan cruel , hasta el nombre duele , cáncer ,pero la fe y la energía positiva pueden lograr mucho en relación a lo que deseemos , en relación a la preparación , me parece simple de preparar siguiendo su receta ,yo haré sin licor :)
Un feliz día
Hola @lupega, gracias por pasar a leer mi receta. Es cierto,la fé mueve montañas, y puede que haya algo de eso, pero también es cierto que la medicina natural es muy poderosa. Y respecto a la preparación, lo tomé sin licor, e igualmente queda delicioso. Saludos.
Oh wow! This is so cool! You go to such effort and it's so thoughtful. I bet it tastes delicious. I too live in a country where it's hot for Christmas, so a spritzer is a great idea! Funny I'm picking currants at the moment, very different though as it's blackcurrants. But you've given me an idea for a kind of 'spritzer' too - it's sooo hot and dry today! Love this, great recipe! @riverflows
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Well, I'm glad you liked it, as soon as I read what a Spritzer is, the idea immediately came to my mind, in fact, I've already invented another Spritzer with another fruit that grows in my backyard, which is harvest season this month, I'll bring it to you later. Thanks for your visit!
Those black currants can also serve, I think any sour fruit is ideal for this spritzer.
Omg i am such a fan of cocktail drinks and this one caught my attention,Would definitely try this sooon on holiday <3 thank you for sharing @sirenahippie :))
I hope you try it and then tell me about it. Thanks for stopping by to read and comment on my post. Regards.
Que habilidosa! se ve deliciosa esa bebida. Justo tengo mucho calor y viendo la receta, pensé para mis adentros que rico sería una bebida fría. Hace años que no pruebo el ron cacique, y aunque no tomo casi nada porque me hace muy mal, igual un trago me he tomado y me encanta el dulce sabor del ron del Caribe, no hay igual la verdad.