Biriz

‘Biriz is an ancient drink that used to be a common alternative to water, I liked to serve this as a welcome drink when I ran my supper club back in Hong Kong, and again I recently served it for a pop-up here in London as a general refreshment, it’s cooling and comes with lots of health benefits.’ -

We recently spoke with award-winning chef and founder of Eat Ethio, Helina Tesega, who was kind enough to give us her recipe for Biriz, a traditional Ethiopian drink made from fermented honey and water.

Ethiopia has a long and proud tradition of honey-making dating back centuries and remains one of the largest producers on the planet. Unlike in most major honey-producing nations, the majority of the country’s beekeepers have retained ancient, labour intensive methods, giving their honey a unique and rich flavour profile that varies from region to region.

Ethiopian beehives are traditionally hung from trees.

Today, honey is consumed widely throughout Ethiopia and is celebrated both for its refined flavour and for its ability to heal and rejuvenate, leading to its local moniker ‘Holy Honey’.

Time 10 mins + fermenting

Makes 1 litre

Essentials

1.5-2 litre sterilised glass container

Muslin cloth

Ingredients

100g of raw organic honey

1 litre of water

4 cloves

A thumb of ginger, peeled & slightly crushed

10g of honeycomb, optional

Instructions

Dissolve the honey in a large clean bowl with around 100ml of the water. Once the honey has dissolved, pour in the rest of the water and mix well.

Transfer the honey water into a sterilised container.

Wrap the cloves and ginger in pieces of muslin cloth and place in the honey water along with the honeycomb. Cover with a clean tea towel and rubber band. Place in a cool dark place to ferment for a couple of days.

Serve and enjoy the numerous health benefits!

See our interview with Helina. Here

Words Poppy Mist / Recipe Helina Tesega / Illustrations Diogo Rodrigues