Jasil
Jasil (Iradi, "green") is a sweet, bright green carbonated soft drink flavoured with an herb syrup, mainly of tarragon. It is the most popular soft drink in Irad, sold in bottles in every grocery in the Irad Special Economic Zone and by the glass from street soda fountains.[1]
History
Jasil was first produced in the Soviet period, when state bottling plants across the Union made herb and fruit syrups for carbonated water. Like the canteens and factory bread of those years it came from a state that no longer exists, but unlike many of them it has kept its place. Iradis who left for Russia in the 1990s ask relatives to send it.[1]
Recipe
Its flavour comes mainly from tarragon, but there is no single recipe. Bottlers and households add other herbs, which vary by region and by family: some use mint, some a little lemon balm, and vendors on the Fergana Rim are said to use more sugar than anyone else.[1]
Sale
The street fountains reappear each May, and vendors say they sell more jasil in July than in the rest of the year together. It costs a few som a glass and is as common at children's birthday parties as at the Irad State Hippodrome.[1]
See also
References
- ^ Talas Herald (9 July 2018). 'The Green Drink: A Short History of Jasil.' Talas.