when my brother and i were kids mom used to make sima for every vappu, with home made doughnuts. i think i've made sima once before, of rhubarbs...not my cup of tea. this year i wanted to have a go with sima and when i was looking for recipes i found one with ginger in it, recipe here. translation of the recipe:
4 liters water
3 cm piece of fresh ginger (peeled)
250 gr brown sugar
250 gr white sugar
1 lemon, thinly sliced (organic, or scrubbed really well)
1/5 tsp fresh yeast
4 tsp sugar
raisins and 4 one liter bottles
start by slicing the lemon...
...peel and slice the ginger. on hindsight i wish i had used more ginger, i would have liked the ginger to taste a bit more.
have two pots ready, one 5 liter pot where you measure the sugars (i used 500 gr of demerera sugar), and another pot where you measure 2 liters of water, add the lemon and ginger and bring to a boil. pour the boiling water on the sugars in the bigger pot.
measure the yeast and dilute it to small amount of water...
...add to the lukewarm liquid and mix well. place a lid on and let sit in room temperature for 24 hrs.
the next day, the liquid has started to bubble slightly and is ready to be bottled.
place 1 tsp sugar and a few raisins into each of the bottles.
strain the solids and pour the liquid into bottles.
as yeast and sugar tend do funny business when they meet, don't screw the lids on the bottles too tight, you'll want some of the pressure to have a way to escape. place the bottles in the fridge and wait for a couple of days. sima is ready when the raisins have risen to the top. you can eat the raisins, i never do, i don't like raisins. they feel like dead insects when you bite them. and for the record, i have not eaten dead (or live, for that matter) insects. it's just...well, i don't like raisins.
although some like to "brew" their own and sugar and yeast will eventually produce alcohol, i wouldn't advise to let sima brew for too long. first, your stomach will thank you if you don't and then there is the exploding factor...broken glass and sugary juices, not my idea of a fun clean-up job.
i love tippaleipä, or funnel cake. i like to eat it by placing it into a bowl and crushing it with a fork. the crumbles and confectioners' sugar tend to go all over, i find it easiest to eat with fork...i am very happy they sell these only around vappu.
happy spring to all!
Looks interesting and complicated!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy first of May from
us all here!
thank you, elizabeth.
ReplyDeletei wish spring was as far as it was in nyc, but on the other hand, i've got more time to plan what i'll grow in the garden this summer (mindbuffling).
oh, sima is not complicated at all, once you think it thru. i find that when you blog with any kind of time- pressure, the instructions don't seem to be quite as simple as you'd want them... sima makes a nice summer drink, too.