A Christmas Drink

Well, it is the ninth day of Christmas and I have the last glass of sorrel in my hand savoring every sip. It is a part of our Caribbean culture to have sorrel at Christmas time. This plant is only harvested at Christmas and dies after one full bearing. According to the Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage:

Sorrel is a plant that grows to about six feet with numerous deeply lobed, light green leaves and many red centered, rose like flowers the calyxes developed into deep red, fleshy cubs (the fruit) which cover hairy, green seed pods.

Growing up in Montserrat, during Christmas, my grandmother expected me to stay on the porch in the night and pull the fruit off the plant; in preparation for it to be boiled with spices. There was no name given to the process it was just done. The end result of the process was that my grandmother made a tasty, flavorful, deep red, spicy, tropical drink.

Well, Christmas day has gone, the servings have diminished, if not all gone; but the contents of the beverages from the Christmas table (jumbie table) remain.

Appended below are the ingredients of the sorrel drink as you take your taste-buds on a tour of the Caribbean this Christmas.

Sorrel Drink

1 1b of sorrel

Gallon of water

1b Ginger Root

7 All Spice Balls

5 clove sticks

Cinnamon

cup Rice

Nutmeg

Sugar

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