saft: a swedish adventure in the states

earlier in the week i posted about saft

now, i'll detail a little about making it...

first of all - saft is a DEEEEELICIOUS drink you can buy in sweden, and at ikea, but not online, only in the ikea store...

anyway, my mormor is awesome and she makes it from scratch - raspberry, strawberry, black currant, etc

one day i went to russell orchards and decided to pick strawberries... mmm... they were so yummy. i had so many strawberries on hand, i decided to eat some, freeze some and make saft out of some.

google translate says saft = juice - but it's so much more...

basically you use the juice from berries, boil it with sugar to make a concentrated liquid and store it. then when you're ready to drink, you pour a little saft into a glass and mix with water... voila, delicious, refreshing drink :)

here's a photo montage of my attempt. it turned out OK, but it's best to mix berries (strawberries and blueberries, or raspberries, etc) and i added TOO MUCH sugar (who would have thought?)

{first, pick berries and decide which ones you want to use}

 i separated mine into eat this week now, freeze and make into saft ;)

{weigh your strawberries}

this is necessary to ensure you have the right amount of other ingredients

{wash your strawberries}

{slice off the green part}

 

 

{weigh the strawberries again, just in case}

{add water}

{boil strawberries in the water, stirring occasionally - approx 10 min}

{use the spoon to crush the strawberries on the edge of the pot to get all the juiciness out}

{i put a strainer in a bowl for this next part}

{put a cheesecloth in the strainer - this is for straining the berries from the liquid}

{pour the boiled berries into the cheesecloth and let the liquid drain into the bowl}

{let it sit for a 30 minutes to ensure all liquid is in the bowl and not in the cheesecloth}

{pour into a measuring container - i used a glass pyrex one - woo hoo! 500ml}

{pour the liquid BACK into the pot on the stove}

{add the sugar - this is what makes it tasty, stir until the sugar has dissolved}

{cook until it comes to a boil}

{towards the end, this is what you should see}

{there's "skumm" - swedish for foam - you don't want it - so take it off with a spoon}

{it's yummy though - strawberry sugary - mmm}

{i set mine on a plate - and then ate it} :)

{pour non skumm liquid into a container so you can pour into bottles; it's easier w/a funnel which i did not have}

{clean the bottles you're using - i baked mine in the oven, but you can also boil them}

{pour liquid into WARM clean bottles, put on the cap and let cool}

 

 

 

 

saft should be stored at a cool temperature (fridge, basement, etc)

{image}

when you're ready to drink, pour some saft into a glass and add water to taste. i don't know how what the saft to water ratio is... i just go by what tastes good...

for those of you who want to try it, here's the recipe i used:

Strawberry Saft

(500 ml of saft or approx 2 cups):

500 grams strawberries

2 deciliters water (a little more than 3/4 cup or 200 ml)

3 deciliters sugar (1 1/4 cup or 300 ml)

note: it should be consumed within a few weeks, if not, some type of preservative should be added - i don't mess with that, i just drink it!