The World That Was - Medieval Egyptian Non-Alcoholic Beer "Subiyah"

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was!


Today, I'll be making a medieval drink from 13th century Egypt - and is still drunk today! A simple, refreshing drink called subiyah/ It was originally made to drink during Ramadan - a holy month of fasting in the Islamic calendar - but this is able to be enjoyed around the year! It's simple to make, and has a very nice crispness to it!


In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above!


Ingredients

3-4 slices of sourdough bread (crusts removed)

3-4 cups water

1 tsp cardamom pods

fresh mint

fresh parsley


Method

1 - Soak and Strain Bread

To begin with, de-crust three slices of sourdough bread and tear the bread into small chunks, before placing them in a bowl. The original recipe requires "bread" and gives no elaboration - so I went for sourdough because it has a more distinct taste than a regular slice of white bread.

In any case, pour in three cups of water into your bowl to soak the bread. Leave all this to get soggy for about thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, your bread chunks should be saturated with water, and practically falling apart. At this point, strain the bread water into a container that can be easily sealed. Make sure you remove as many solids from the mixture as you can.


2 - Combine Aromatics and Spices before fermenting

Next, toss some parsley leaves into your container with the water, along with some fresh mint, and a handful of cardamom pods that you've crushed slightly. Mix everything together, and seal up. I used a mason jar for this, because it's convenient - but in antiquity, people would have used a damp cloth placed over the opening of the container.

Leave the container aside for a day or two at room temperature. This will let the whole thing steep, letting the flavours mingle.


When it's done steeping, pour your subiyah through a strainer, removing the herbs, pods, and any remaining large chunks of bread. Serve up chilled, with a sprig of mint and take a sip!


The finished drink is quite mild tasting, but has a very soothing background sensation. It's very light, and looks a lot like lemonade. A wonderful drink to have on a warm day!

The original recipe from the 13th century states that other herbs can be used to affect the final flavour, so you can of course add sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme, and even lavender to add new notes to the finished subiyah. Other spices can be added to affect the flavour too - cinnamon would have been used in the late medieval period, as Egypt would have been an important point of trade between the Mediterranean and Arabian seas (and therefore the maritime crossing point of the spice trade!)

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