This month’s recipe is one with a long history and tradition. It comes to us by way of Sam Brungardt of Minnesota.
Throughout the Russian Empire, people have been cooking with watermelon syrup or watermelon honey since the time of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. She ruled Russia from 1741-1762, before the reign of Catherine the Great, the empress who invited Germanic and other Europeans to settle in the lower Volga River region near Saratov in the 1760s.
In those days, watermelon syrup was prepared by hollowing out the watermelon with spoons or scoops and pressing the pulp through a sieve. The resulting liquid was poured into cast iron cauldrons and cooked in the open air until the juice was reduced to about 10% of its original volume until it had the consistency of honey.
Despite its Volga German and Mennonite name, Arbusenhonig doesn’t contain honey. Nor does it have any added sugar; it is simply reduced watermelon juice. Other names for it are Arbusensaft, Schlecksel, Latwerge, and Suesschen.
Watermelon syrup was used as a sweetener or a spread because it contains about 60% sugar. These days Volga German descendants use it to make spicy Pfeffernuesse bread and Duennekuchen; Mennonites make Siaroppspäpanat and Kuchen. People in the Don Cossack region call it nardek. No matter what you call it, we would love to hear your watermelon syrup stories.
This recipe includes info from a Russian website; the book, Sachliche Volkskunde der Wolgadeutsche; Mennonite Foods & Folkways from South Russia (Vol. 1); and many Volga German cookbooks and other sources.