Raw materials and art – 26. The sorbet and the Ottoman sorbet seller

2023-05-22 06:10:48

Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva. This week, focus on sorbet. We will examine the etymology of the word sorbet. Then, we will discuss the history of sorbet. This gives us the opportunity to admire The Ottoman Sorbet Vendor (c. 1808-1826) which is one of hundreds of thousands of free digital records in the New York Public Library.

Redi, in “Bacchus in Tuscany”, describes the drink thus: “Oh, how it crunches between the teeth, and crumbles then from the uvula to the esophagus the coolness slips into the stomach”.

etymology

The origin of the term is controversial. Several specialists believe that it derives from the Arabic word “sherbeth” (cool drink). Some insist on the Turkish word “sharber” (sorbire). Others evoke the Latin verb “sorbeo-es-sorbui” (to sorb or to suck). Anyway, it seems that the name sorbet was adopted in the Middle Ages as an onomatopoeia to designate the noise made by sucking drinks made from fresh fruit.

Historical data: Sorbet through the ages

Indispensable to the realization of these recipes, the snow was stored in caves isolated by layers of straw. It is the poet Simonides (V^th century BC) which teaches us that among the Greeks, “the living snow is buried in order to keep it alive and to soften the summer”.

The Roman Seneca (I^is century A.D.) describes the technique of cooling drinks as passing them several times through a silver strainer or through a cloth filled with snow.

During the first centuries of the Middle Ages, in Western countries, the art of preparing frozen drinks was almost forgotten.

It is only around the IX^th century that the Arabs reintroduced the knowledge of how to make sorbets to Sicily. At that time, it had been discovered in the Orient that fruit juice thickened and cooled when mixed in a container covered with snow on the outside; it was also realized that the melting of the ice was slowed down by the addition of salt. These methods have led to significant changes in the preparation of cold drinks and “sorbets” (granitas).

Sorbet in Italian courts

During the second half of the sixteenth^th century, the custom of making sorbets became established in various Italian courts. Some affirm, without there being precise written proof, that certain devices for making sorbets were developed by the architect and engineer Bernardo Buontalenti, commissioned by the Medici to organize “parties to pass foreigners, Spaniards moreover, for simpletons”.

He is the historian of the XVIII^th century, Giuseppe Averani, in his book “Del vitto e delle cene degli antichi” (On the food and dinners of the ancients), which informs us about the general talents of the Florentine:

“Bernardo Buontalenti, a man of great wisdom and renowned for his ingenuity and his many wonderful discoveries, was the first to make canned ice cream.

They have XVII^th century, sorbet conquered the palate of the bourgeoisie thanks to new technological knowledge and the fall in the cost of ingredients.

It was the Sicilian Francesco Procopio Cutò who, through the “Café Procope”, opened in Paris in 1686, spread the consumption of special sorbets among the European bourgeoisie.

The fame of the Italian was such that Louis XIV granted him the exclusive right to supply the court with “ice waters” (the current granitas), “flowers of anise” and “flowers of cinnamon” (similar to fruit ice cream).

We can admire the Ottoman Sherbet Seller (c. 1808-1826) which is one of hundreds of thousands of free digital documents from the New York Public Library.

In the same series, “Raw materials and art”: