Aleppo Almond Drink

In Aleppo the almond drink is not an everyday glass. It comes with an occasion: a wedding, an engagement, the news of a birth, a religious holiday. The colour is milk white, the texture faintly creamy, and it is always served cold. A few drops of orange blossom or rose water sit on top, and you meet them as you lift the glass.

How it is made

Almonds are boiled in the shell, peeled, then ground fine. In most kitchens and sweet shops the work goes one step further: the almonds are turned into a white concentrate called mustahlab al-lawz, and the drink is built on that. One measure of concentrate, one measure of milk and ice go into the glass and are whisked together. The orange blossom or rose water goes in last.

Why it belongs to good days

At an Aleppo table what is served tells you the news. A house in mourning offers plain coffee; a wedding, an engagement, a birth or a holiday brings the almond drink. So the glass in your hand carries the message before anyone says it.

How it differs from almond milk

Halib bi-lawz, almond milk, is an everyday drink: almonds and milk, nothing else. The sherbet is built on the concentrate, and it is thicker and sweeter. The difference is practical as well. The concentrate can be made days ahead and kept in a bottle, so when a crowd arrives the glasses are out in minutes. That is why this is the drink of ceremonies.

Where to find it

This glass comes from a family table rather than a counter, and looking for it on the street is hard work. The concentrate is sold by the bottle in Aleppo’s sweet shops and spice merchants, and shops run by Aleppo families abroad carry the same product as far as Europe. Take a bottle home and let it down with milk and ice — ask the seller for the ratio.