Drinks
Arekeአረቄ
Ethiopia's clear grain spirit. Described here rather than instructed — see the note below.
- Prep
- Not a home recipe
- Cook
- Not a home recipe
- Serves
- 8
- Region
- National
Ingredients
8 servings
Method
This entry describes areke; it does not tell you how to distil it. Distilling spirits without a licence is a criminal offence in most countries, and an unvented still is a genuine fire and poisoning risk
Buy it rather than make it. Look for a bottle that is completely clear, with no cloudiness and no sediment
Serve it at room temperature in small straight glasses. Never chilled, and never over ice
It is poured for the eldest person present first
It belongs with tere siga, with kitfo and with dried quanta, and it appears at funerals, at weddings and at Christmas
A shot glass is the measure. Commercial areke usually runs between 40 and 45 percent
Photographs
From the kitchen
Home-distilled areke is common in rural Ethiopia and its strength varies wildly from batch to batch. A poorly separated distillate can carry methanol, which causes blindness and death, and you cannot taste it
The alcohol here is not incidental. This is a spirit as strong as most vodka, and it is drunk in company and in small measures for a reason
Gesho is what distinguishes areke from any other grain spirit — it is the same plant that makes tej and tella taste Ethiopian
Also written areki and ariki, and called by different names region to region
Tags
- alcoholic
- traditional
- reference
- festive
Per serving
- Calories
- 100
- Protein
- 0g
- Carbohydrate
- 0g
- Fat
- 0g
Estimates. They shift with how you make it and what you make it with.
Suitable for
Contains
- gluten
Watch it made
No video is pinned to this recipe yet.