Damascene Mulberry Syrup

A finger of dark syrup goes into the glass, iced water goes on top, and the colour shifts from deep red towards violet. It tastes like no other mulberry drink, because there is no water in it: the syrup is boiled from the juice of the fruit alone. The season in Damascus is short and everyone knows it — the real work is filling the jars before it ends.

Which mulberry

The fruit is tut shami, the black mulberry, Morus nigra. It is the tree of the Ghouta gardens and the Barada valley: dark, heavy with juice and fragile, so it has to be worked within a day or two of picking. The season opens in early May and closes at the end of June.

How it is made

Ripe mulberries go into the pot with no water added and are boiled until they collapse. Once cool they are pressed and passed through a fine sieve. One measure of sugar goes in for every two measures of juice; the mixture is boiled again and skimmed. It then stands in the sun for 3 days and is stirred morning and evening. Last, it is poured into glass bottles and jars that seal tightly.

How it is drunk

Let down with iced water. There is no fixed ratio — a finger of syrup for those who like it strong, half that for those who do not. The colour deepens the longer the bottle stands, and the taste does not turn sour. It is drunk all summer, though it is at its best in the fruit’s own season, with fresh syrup.

Where to find it

This is household work rather than shop work. Bottled syrup is sold at spice merchants and herbalists, and in season the fresh fruit sits in baskets in the Damascus markets. The jarred syrup belongs to mouneh, the winter store — the same shelf as jam, molasses and makdous.

An old record

Mulberry sherbet turns up in medieval sources: Ibn al-Baytar writes about it, and so does the Aleppo historian Ibn al-Adim. It reached folk poetry and proverb as well. Do not confuse it with jallab, which is made from date and raisin molasses and is on sale all year; mulberry syrup comes from a single fruit and only in its season.