“Ater” قطر, or in some countries it is called “Sharabat” شربات is basically sweet Sugar Syrup infused with orange blossom water. Most Arabic Sweets are served with Ater. Ater is either used to make the sweet, or served next to sweets. Most cheese and cream-based Arabic sweets are served with Ater on the side and each person adds as much syrup as they like. I find this to be very convenient as our taste buds are quite different and this way we can make sure our portion is to our liking!
Once prepared, Ater stores well in the fridge for a few weeks. If you have more than one occasion coming up that you plan to prepare Arabic sweets for, just double or triple the Ater Recipe portion, and store for when needed.
Among the Arabic Sweets that are served with Ater are the famous Kenafah, Halawet Al-Jiben, Qatayef, Osmalieh, Harisa (which is Semolina Cake), Muhalabieh, Layali Libnan and Halawet al-Smeed.
Sugar Syrup (Ater or Sharabat) Recipe
Preparation time: 2 min Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (5 ml)
2 teaspoons orange blossom water (10ml), you can substitute with rose water
How to make Sugar Syrup (Ater / Sharabat):
- Add the sugar and water to a pan. Turn on the heat to high; bring to boil while mixing. I like to use a whisk for this as you can see from the picture bellow.
- Boil the syrup for 4 minutes then add the lemon juice and blossom water. Mix well and boil for an additional 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool, as it cools the syrup will thicken more. Be careful not to over boil the mixture. If it over-boils the color changes to honey-like golden brown. If this happens, quickly remove from heat and add a tablespoon or two cold water. Mix the syrup well, remove it from the hot pan, and set aside to cool. I have timed the 4 + 2 minutes so if you stick to that you should be fine
Enjoy Ater with your favorite Arabic Sweet. Try it with Harisa; a yummy Middle Eastern sweet prepared with semolina. Some in the West call it Semolina Cake.
Enjoy Ater with Layali Libnan (Lebanese Nights), a yummy Middle Eastern pudding-based sweet.
Hope you enjoyed today’s easy sweet recipe: Ater (Sugar Syrup), used with a variety or Arabic and Middle Eastern Sweets.Bon Appetite.
