qalaqand (vitriol)

Ingredients

green Persian qalaqand, sublimated vinegar

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

1. Take green Persian qalaqand (vitriol/zāđ) without impurities. 2. Place in a ceramic pot and roast in an oven for one night. 3. Repeat roasting for a second night until it turns completely red. 4. Grind the red substance. 5. Pour three times its quantity of sublimated vinegar onto it. 6. Place in a long-necked bottle with a large opening for three days, shaking periodically. 7. Purify the liquid to obtain a red purple/ruby colored water (p. 296).

Evidence

"take some green Persian qalaqand that has no impurity; put it in a ceramic pot, roast it in an oven... grind it, and pour three times its quantity of sublimated vinegar onto it... purify its water that is as red as purple and ruby."

Remarks

The substance is described as vitriol (zāđ) and qulqaၣār on page 296. It was reportedly found in a lamp (qindħl) made of 'red ruby' in the ancient Egyptian ruins in Homs.