Orgeat
A historical recipe from The Italian Cook Book The Art of Eating Well, by Maria Gentile (1919).
A historical recipe
The Italian Cook Book The Art of Eating Well; Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine, Pastries, Sweets, Frozen Delicacies, and Syrups, by Maria Gentile (1919). Project Gutenberg eBook #24407.
From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.
Italy
Known as an Italian recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.
Cook safely
Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.
- Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
Method
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- Sweet almonds with 10 or 12 bitter ones, seven ounces.
- Water, one and half pounds.
- Granulated sugar, two pounds.
- Skin the almonds and grind them very fine, or better pound them in a mortar, moistening from time to time with orange flower water, of which you will use about two tablespoonfuls.
- When the almonds have been reduced to a paste, dissolve the latter in one third of the water and filter the juice through a cheese cloth, squeezing hard.
- Put the paste, back in the grinder or in the mortar, grind or pound again, then filter again with another third of the water.
- Repeat the same operation for a third time, then put on the fire the liquid so obtained and just before boiling put the sugar, mix, stir and boil for about twenty minutes.
- Let it cool, then bottle and keep in a cool place.
- The orgeat does not ferment and the thick liquid may be diluted in water, half an inch for a whole tumbler of iced water.
Plating
Cookware for this recipe
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Saucepan
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Mortar and pestle
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Wooden spoon