Sekanjabin: Medieval Persian Mint Drink (Sweet & Sour Sharbat Recipe)

Sekanjabin: Medieval Persian Mint Drink

Originally published September 14, 2015. Updated June 7, 2026.

Sekanjabin, also spelled sikanjabin, sekanjubin, or sikandjabin, is one of those wonderfully practical historic drinks that still makes perfect sense in a modern kitchen. At its simplest, it is a sweet-and-sour syrup made from vinegar and sugar or honey, then diluted with water before serving. Add mint, and the result is sharp, refreshing, fragrant, and very welcome on a hot day.

This is a drink many people first encounter at SCA events, camping weekends, and outdoor feasts. It is inexpensive, easy to make in quantity, and simple to transport as a syrup. The concentrate can be diluted as needed, which makes it especially useful for camp cooking or feast service. Vinegar in a drink may sound surprising at first, but when balanced with sugar and water, it becomes bright and cooling rather than harsh.

The recipe below is adapted from An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century, translated by David Friedman. The historic recipe is for a simple sikanjabîn syrup, also called an oxymel, made from vinegar and sugar or honey. The mint version commonly served today is a modern adaptation inspired by this family of medieval sweetened vinegar drinks.

What Is Sekanjabin?

Sekanjabin belongs to a broad family of drinks made by cooking vinegar with a sweetener to form a syrup. That syrup is then diluted with water before drinking. The name is generally associated with Persian foodways, but sweetened vinegar drinks traveled widely through medieval Arabic, Persian, Andalusian, and Mediterranean culinary traditions.

The idea may sound unusual to a modern reader, but it has cousins that are more familiar than they first appear. Shrubs, switchels, drinking vinegars, and oxymels all rely on the same useful balance: acid, sweetness, and water. In a medieval context, drinks like this were often valued not only for flavor, but for their ability to cut thirst, settle the stomach, and cool the body.

In modern Persian cookery, sekanjabin is often served as a syrup diluted with water and sometimes paired with cucumber or mint. For feast and camp use, the simple mint syrup version is especially convenient. It can be made ahead, bottled, and mixed to taste.

The Historic Recipe

Syrup of Simple Sikanjabîn (Oxymel)

Take a ratl of strong vinegar and mix it with two ratls of sugar, and cook all this until it takes the form of a syrup. Drink an ûqiya of this with three of hot water when fasting: it is beneficial for fevers of jaundice, and calms jaundice and cuts the thirst, since sikanjabîn syrup is beneficial in phlegmatic fevers: make it with six ûqiyas of sour vinegar for a ratl of honey and it is admirable.

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... and a ratl of sugar; cook all this until it takes the consistency of syrup. Its benefit is to relax the bowels and cut the thirst and vomiting, and it is beneficial in bilious fevers.

The original recipe reads partly as a beverage and partly as a medicinal syrup. This is not unusual for medieval recipes. Food, drink, and medicine often overlapped, especially when a preparation was intended to cool, comfort, aid digestion, or relieve thirst. The recipe gives both sugar and honey options, suggesting that the important feature is not one exact sweetener, but the sweet-and-sour syrup itself.

The historic instructions call for cooking vinegar and sugar until they take the form of a syrup. The finished syrup is then diluted before drinking. This makes sekanjabin very practical for a feast kitchen: the concentrate can be prepared ahead of time, stored, transported, and mixed with water only when needed.

Humoral Properties and Medieval Medicine

To a medieval cook or physician, sekanjabin was more than a refreshing drink. It also occupied a place within the humoral understanding of food and medicine. Medieval people believed health depended on balancing the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, each associated with qualities of heat, cold, moisture, and dryness.

Vinegar was generally considered cooling and drying, making it useful in hot conditions or for those thought to suffer from excessive heat or moisture. Sugar and honey softened vinegar’s sharpness while adding nourishment and moderation. Mint was often valued for aiding digestion and refreshing the stomach. Together, these ingredients created a drink believed to calm thirst, cool the body, and restore balance, particularly during hot weather or fever.

It is no accident that the Andalusian source specifically recommends sikanjabîn for thirst, fevers, and disturbances associated with phlegmatic and bilious humors. To medieval diners, this was not simply a pleasant refreshment. It was a practical household syrup with both culinary and medicinal value.

Modern Sekanjabin Recipe

This version is courtesy of David Friedman and has become a popular adaptation among medieval recreation cooks. I prefer to use red wine vinegar as the base of my drink because it gives the finished syrup a fuller, deeper flavor than plain white vinegar. I have also experimented with flavored vinegars and occasionally omitted the mint entirely, depending on the rest of the menu.

Makes approximately 4 cups syrup, depending on reduction.

Ingredients

• 4 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup wine vinegar, red or white
• 1 generous handful fresh mint
• Cold water or ice water, for serving

Method

1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan.
2. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Add the vinegar.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the mixture becomes syrupy.
6. Add the mint, remove the pan from the heat, and allow the syrup to cool.
7. Strain out the mint and bottle the syrup.
8. To serve, dilute the syrup with cold water to taste, usually 5 to 10 parts water to 1 part syrup.

Kitchen Adventures Notes

My preferred dilution is stronger than many people expect, usually around five parts water to one part syrup. At that ratio the drink keeps a pleasant sweet-and-sour brightness without becoming overly sharp. For people trying sekanjabin for the first time, however, I recommend beginning closer to eight or ten parts water and adjusting from there.

The finished drink should feel refreshing rather than aggressively vinegary. Think cooling herbal cordial rather than salad dressing gone terribly wrong. Red wine vinegar gives a rich, rounded flavor. White wine vinegar produces a lighter syrup. Cider vinegar can also be used, although it gives the drink a more apple-like character.

For modern service, this drink is excellent over ice. It may also be mixed with sparkling water for a brighter, more festive version. Cucumber slices, extra mint, or a few edible flowers make it especially attractive in a pitcher.

Why Sekanjabin Works for Camp Cooking

One of the reasons sekanjabin remains popular at SCA events is that it works beautifully in camp kitchens and feast settings. Because it begins as a syrup rather than a finished beverage, it travels well, stores easily, and can be mixed as needed throughout the day.

For hot-weather events, the concentrate can be prepared ahead of time and diluted with cold water or ice shortly before serving. This makes it especially useful at summer wars and outdoor feasts where hydration matters but plain water grows dull after a long day in the sun.

For feast service, consider offering the syrup separately with pitchers of cold water so guests can adjust the strength to their liking. Some will prefer it light and cooling, while others quickly develop a taste for the stronger sweet-and-sour bite.

Serving Suggestions

• Classic: Dilute with cold still water and serve over ice.
• Camp version: Keep the syrup bottled and mix individual cups as needed.
• Feast version: Serve in pitchers diluted to a mild ratio, with extra syrup available for those who prefer it stronger.
• Modern variation: Mix with sparkling water for a shrub-like drink.
• Garnish: Add fresh mint, cucumber slices, or edible flowers.

Storage

The syrup stores well before dilution. Keep it bottled and tightly covered. Once diluted with water, treat it like any prepared beverage and keep it chilled. For events, it is easiest to transport the syrup separately and dilute only what is needed.

More Medieval Beverages & Syrups

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Works Cited

Friedman, David. “Chapter One: On Drinks.” An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century. Translated by Charles Perry. Accessed September 14, 2015. http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian10.htm#Heading506

Meade, R. H. “Non-Alcoholic Beverages of the Middle Ages.” Medieval Brewers Homepage. October 25, 2002. Accessed September 14, 2015. http://mbhp.forgottensea.org/noalcohol.html#_ftnref5

AI Assistance Disclosure: This post was originally written by the author and later updated with the assistance of ChatGPT for organization, expanded historical context, search optimization, and editorial clarity. Final content, recipe interpretation, and opinions remain the author’s own.