Soumada of Nisyros and Crete (Σουμάδα)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •strong blender or food processor
• •fine sieve lined with muslin or cheesecloth
• •heavy 3-liter saucepan
• •sterilized glass bottles, 1.5-liter total capacity
• •candy thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch and soak

   Put the almonds in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Leave them 2 minutes, drain, then pinch off the skins while the nuts are still warm. Cover the peeled almonds with fresh cold water and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. If you're starting with blanched almonds, still soak them. They grind finer when they have softened.

2. 2

   Grind the almonds

   Drain the soaked almonds well. Put them in a strong blender with 600ml of the measured cold water and blend for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture looks like thick white cream with no large pieces. Work in two batches if your blender is small. Soumada rewards patience here.

3. 3

   Double strain

   Set a fine sieve over a bowl and line it with damp muslin. Pour in the almond paste and squeeze hard, then put the squeezed pulp back in the blender with the remaining 600ml cold water. Blend 1 minute and squeeze through the same cloth into the bowl. Rinse the sieve, line it with clean cloth, and pass the combined almond milk through once more, without forcing the last spoonful of sediment. This clean second pass is what makes soumada silk-smooth; almond grit does not melt in syrup.

   A nut-milk bag works well, but rinse it before the clean pass. The second straining matters more than the tool.
4. 4

   Cook the syrup

   Pour the strained almond milk into a heavy saucepan; you should have about 1.1 liters. If it is under 1 liter, add a little cold water. Add the sugar and lemon juice, then warm over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook 15 to 20 minutes, skimming the pale foam, until it reaches 103 to 104 C or falls from the spoon in a light sheet. It thickens more as it cools.

   If sugar crystals climb the side of the pot, brush them down with a wet pastry brush. It keeps the syrup clear instead of grainy.
5. 5

   Finish and bottle

   Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the bitter almond extract, then the flower water if using. Taste only after a spoonful cools; hot syrup lies about aroma. Funnel into sterilized bottles, cap, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

6. 6

   Pour the glasses

   Shake the bottle before serving. Pour 40ml syrup into each chilled glass, add 150ml ice-cold still water, and stir until evenly milky. The glass should be sweet but light. Add a splash more water for a longer drink, but don't drown the almond.

Chef Tips

• •Use whole sweet almonds with skins if you can. The skins slip off after blanching, and the nut underneath gives a cleaner, rounder milk than almond flour or a carton. A carton makes sweetened almond water, not soumada.
• •Bitter almond is the old scent, but it is not a place for heroics. Use food-grade bitter almond extract unless your grocer sells culinary bitter almonds under local rules; don't gather wild kernels.
• •Soumada is naturally nistisimo, just almonds, sugar, and water. Serve it in small glasses after sweets, or beside almond biscuits at an engagement table; the drink should be pale, cold, and smooth.

Advance Preparation

• •Blanch, peel, and soak the almonds the night before; the cordial is smoother when the nut softens.
• •Make the syrup up to 2 weeks ahead and keep it refrigerated in sterilized bottles. Shake before pouring if almond fat rises.
• •Chill the serving water and glasses at least 2 hours before serving; soumada tastes cleanest very cold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)