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Select fully ripe fresh black mulberries and mix a few red berries with them. Put the berries in a muslin bag and press the juice from them into an earthenware or enamelware pan. (Wear rubber gloves as the juice stains the hands.) Measure the juice. For every cup of juice add two cups of sugar. Boil over a high fire until somewhat thickened. Juice should be cooked in a glass or enamelware saucepan to avoid discoloration of the syrup. Stir with a wooden spoon only. Bottle when tepid and seal when thoroughly cold.

Use a tablespoon of syrup per glass of ice water when preparing the beverage. Increase according to taste. Open bottles of syrup should be stored in the refrigerator.


(From Food from the Arab World Marie Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keatinge, Khayat's, Beirut 1959)