Wednesday, May 8, 2019

ErkSous


The History of Licorice

Licorice is not a recent discovery. The ancient Egyptians used it as a pharmaceutical, and copious supplies were found in King Tut’s tomb. Egyptian hieroglyphics record the use of licorice as a popular beverage among the men of the time.

Manuscripts from 360 A.D. talk of licorice helping eye ailments, skin diseases, coughs, and loss of hair. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar are on record as endorsing the benefits of eating licorice. Since the 14th century, it has been used to soothe coughs, colds, and bronchitis.

LICORICE ROOTS
Napoleon Bonaparte found licorice soothing during battle; he allegedly ate so much of it that his teeth turned black. (Don’t worry. The amount of licorice found in most of today’s licorice candy will not discolour your teeth.)

Modern licorice candy dates from 17th century Holland. At the time, Holland was one of the world’s most powerful countries. Her intrepid sailors spread this wonderful delicacy to other European nations. Today, licorice candy is manufactured throughout Europe, America, and Australia.

The Modern scientific Health Benefits of Licorice

Licorice is especially useful in fighting bronchitis, upper respiratory catarrh, and coughs. It stimulates mucus production and helps to loosen sticky phlegm. It also contains a chemical that has cough-suppressant properties.

THE LICORICE PLANT & FLOWER
Licorice also helps reduce stomach acid and increases mucus secretion in the gastric tract, soothing irritation and inflammation. It can be used to fight heartburn, indigestion, and gastric and duodenal ulcers. It may also shorten the healing time of mouth ulcers.

Small amounts of licorice, such as those found in candies, do not pose a risk. However, licorice is a powerful drug, and serious health problems can result from taking it at medicinal levels for long periods of time.


Long back in Italy was a saying, Ladies: 

"(L'amore e' un sogno, dolce come il latte e la Liquirizia)
 Love is a dream, sweet as milk and Licorice

ITALIAN LICORICE SINCE 1731

Quick Facts About Licorice

The licorice plant, a shrub, is officially a weed. It is about four feet tall with purplish flowers and grows in hot, dry places.

Licorice root is one of the most popular herbs in the world. Its botanical name comes from the Greek words meaning "sweet root."

The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, and Hindus recognized the natural medicinal qualities of licorice. Licorice helps relieve the pains that accompany certain types of ulcers, and it is good for the adrenal glands.

LICORICE
Carbenoxolone, a compound derived from licorice root, may help slow the effects of aging on the brain. Licorice root is a botanical ingredient in modern Chinese medicines used to manage cancers. Current research conducted at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, supports the use of licorice in the treatment of prostate and breast cancer.

In the United States, anise seed is a popular substitute flavouring for licorice. Although the anise seed has an unmistakable licorice flavour, it is not related to the European plant whose roots are the source of true licorice.

The root of the drink

MEDECIN MAN
The medicinal use of licorice can be traced back to many ancient civilizations. Babylonians used it some 4000 years ago as a drink to strengthen the body and its immune system. Ancient Egyptians would prepare a licorice drink as a ritual to honour the spirits of the Pharaohs. Raw ErkSous was also found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Ancient Egyptian doctors used to mix ErkSous with various medicines to treat stomach and liver problems,” said Dr. Mohamed Samy, an expert in alternative medicine, who practices herbal medicine.

“The Greeks, Romans and later the Arabs used it as well to treat coughs, indigestion, vomiting, stomach pains and general digestive ailments. Its health benefits have been mentioned in various old scrolls.”

The benefits of ErkSous

LICORICE ALLSORTS
ErkSous, extracted from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a plant with blue flowers, has Licorice flower distinct sweet flavour. It contains sugar, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and others minerals. 

Until today Egyptians drink ErkSous to quench their thirst and for its health benefits.

“ErkSous strengthens the immune system,” said Mohamed Ibrahim, a spice shop owner and herbal medicine practitioner from Khan-Khalil. “It is a natural antibiotic that helps treat infections in the respiratory system.” that I greatly recommend to my clients, this sweet beverage can help and has no side effects.

“It is also very useful for coughs and throat soars. Some people used it as well to regulate the digestive system and for constipation,” added Ibrahim.

 
Clank.. clink.. clank.. clink…
THE ERKSOUS VENDOR
 PAINTING BY C. CHAROBIM (1894-1975)
The rhythmic clanking of his cymbals resonates distinctively through the thick noise of Cairo’s busy downtown streets on hot summer days.

ErkSous, a healthy cold drink sold by the glass in the streets of Cairo and across the country.

When a thirsty passerby will stops the ErkSous Street Vendor for a cold ErkSous drink, the street vendor, in his baggy Turkish-style pants, thick cloth belt, little vest, and rubber boots, tilts his heavy ice-filled copper container decorated with a bunch of colourful plastic flowers that is strapped to his chest, and pours the brownish juice into a glass held way below his waist so as to foam up the liquid.


After rinsing the used glass with a dash of water sprinkled from a plastic jug slung over his shoulder, he tucks it back into a small rimmed tray fixed to one hip, and then bangs his cymbals again.

Preparing the drink

Preparing ErkSous is very easy and only takes a few hours to make.

A ErkSous Vendor from Souhag in Upper Egypt, has been doing it for years. He buys the raw ingredient from the spice shop. He places it in a bowl and sprays it with water and sodium carbonate, leaving to sit over night for seven or eight hours until it ferments.

Licorice Root Sodium carbonate helps in the fermenting process. ErkSous original color is light brown but turns dark as a chemical reaction to the sodium carbonate and the water.

ROAMING VENDOR
“The next morning, He rub the ErkSous together a little in his hands until it turns dark in colour,” a vendor, who learned the trade of making and selling ErkSous from his father". He then places the raw ErkSous in a sieve lined with fine gauze fabric, and pours water over it. The product is a drink ready to be served cold.

Many Egyptian families prepare this favoured drink in their homes. Some say making it themselves is cheaper than buying it, while others feel it is more hygienic than drinking it from a street Vendor.

The demand and consumption of ErkSous vary according to the time of the year.

Licorice, Kharoub and Sobia Cart
Our sales of raw ErkSous go up especially in the summer and of course during Ramadan,” said a spice shop owner in  Shubra, adding that his customers generally buy depending on the size of the family.

Sales increase in summer because ErkSous is served ice cold and is therefore very refreshing when the temperatures soar. During Ramadan, Egyptians also drink more ErkSous because it helps them prepare for the next day’s fast, as it lessens their thirst.

Times are changing

Today however, things are changing for the wandering ErkSous Vendors. Many have given up this job, finding it difficult to walk the streets with the heavy urns on their backs amidst Cairo’s crowded streets and traffic. Others on the other hand have opened juice shops where they can sell a larger assortment of drinks that better suits the demand of customers.

MODERN TIME
ERKSOUS AND OTHER JUICES
VENDOR ON CART
Life is hard nowadays and with the hot weather in the summer, the traffic and the bustling streets, who could stand walking around all day with that weight on their back,” said a juice shop owner in El-Sayeda. “That’s why my dad and I decided to open this shop to sell ErkSous and other refreshments as well.”

Other Vendors did not give up wandering the streets completely. Instead they have opted for a wheeled cart to help them reduce some of their works’ strain.

In the past the city was not so crowded with people and cars, summer were not that harsh and the pollution was much less, I was also much younger and had a better health, so it wasn’t difficult for me to walk around all day, but nowadays things are different.

COLOURED DRAWING
ON COPPER
After selling ErkSous for many years in the streets the smiling vendor said, I built this cart with wheels, which makes it a lot easier for me now to walk around from street to street without getting too tired. It also allows me to sell more than one type of drink at the same time, so today for example I have ErkSous, Tamr Hindi (a tamarind fruit ice drink) and sobia (a sweet drink made of grinded rice, coconut, sugar and milk mixed together in water). Also I have blocks of ice in the cart, to keep the drinks nice and cool.”

Parts of Article inspired by an Ingrid Wassmann blog.