إكسير الخمر

Ingredients

الخمر العتيق, ماء التفاح الأحمر, الصمغ العربي

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The method involves taking old wine (free of water) and mixing it with a small amount of juice from red apples. The mixture is boiled on fire until it is reduced by one-third (1/3). Arabic gum is then added to the reduction to act as a thickening agent (binder) until it solidifies. Once it reaches the desired consistency, it is removed from the heat and allowed to cool, forming a solid disc or cake (qurs). This cake is then broken into drachm-sized pieces. To use the substance, a piece is placed in a bottle of water for one hour until it dissolves and transforms the liquid (p. 78).

Evidence

"وتلقي عليه من الصمغ العربي ما يعقده . فإذا انعقد أنزله عن النار ، واتركه حتى يبرد ، فإنه يصير كالقرص العقيد . فكسره كل قطعة على قدر الدرهم"

Remarks

This recipe describes the production of an 'elixir' in a concentrated solid form, which is a common technical approach in historical Arabic chemical treatises for creating transportable colorants and inks. The use of Arabic gum (al-samgh al-'arabi) as the primary binder for a reduced organic liquid is characteristic of ink-making technology from the 16th-century Syrian tradition (p. 78).