Afiyet Olsun :)

Sharbat or Sherbet  is a popular Wext and South Asian drink that is prepared from fruits or flower petals. It is sweet and served chilled. It can be served in concentrate form and eaten with a spoon or diluted with water to create the drink.

Popular sharbats are made of one or more of the following: Rose, Sandalwood, Bael, Gurhal (hibiscous), Lemon, Orange, Mango, Pineapple, Falsa (Grewia asiatica).

Most of the sharbats are very common in Indian, Turkish, Arab,  Iranian, Afghan, Pakistani and Bagladesi homes. These are claimed to have several medicinal values and to be ayurvedic in nature.

The word Sharbat is from Persian "شربت" "sharbat", and Sherbet is from turkish "şerbet" "sherbet", both of which in turn come from Arabic شربة "sharba" a drink, from شرب "shariba" to drink. Also called "sorbet", which comes from French "sorbet", from Italian "sorbetto", and in turn from Turkish "şerbet". The word is cognate to syrop in Brıtısh and American English. Historically it was a cool effervescent or iced fruit soft drink. The meaning, spelling, and pronunciation have fractured between different countries. It is usually spelled "sherbet", but a common corruption changes this to "sherbert".

In the 12th century, Persian book of Zakhireye Khwarazmshahi, Gorgani describes different types of Sharbats in Iran, including Ghoore, Anar, Sekanjebin, etc.

It was popularised in the Indian subcontinent by the Mughall rulers, one of whom sent for frequent loads of ice from the Himalayas to make a cool refreshing drink.

In the gardens of the Ottoman Palace, spices and fruits to be used in sherbet were grown under the control of pharmacists and doctors of the Palace.

The person responsible for preparing and serving sharbat in Turkey is called a serbetci (şerbetçi). Some serbetci sell sharbat on the street in the traditional way. On their backs they carry a big brass flask with a long nozzle (called anibrik) and hold glasses in their sash or brass cup-holders. They serve sharbat by bending forward and filling a glass from the nozzle curved over their shoulder. The Şerbetçi family name is derived from this occupation. In rural areas of Eastern Turkey, the groom's family comes to the bride's house after the dowry is agreed upon and brings an ibrik with sharbat for the future bride to drink as a sign of acceptance of the groom.

Victoria