Attar

also called attar · ater · atar · qatr · qater · sugar syrup · simple syrup · sherbet · baklava syrup · rose syrup

Three ways to read this recipe

The table

Attar: ingredients down the left, what to do with them across. Tap any cell to cross it off.
2 cups(400 g)granulated sugardissolve the sugar over low heatsimmer 10 min to a light threadstir in the lemonperfume off the heatcool 2 hr, then chill
1 cup(240 mL)water
1 Tbs(15 mL)lemon juice
1 Tbs(15 mL)orange blossom water
1 tsp(5 mL)rose water
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.6 things to get out.

Pans and tools

1dissolve the sugar over low heat

3stir in the lemon

goes in with what step 2 made

4perfume off the heat

goes in with what step 3 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 2 hr 10 mintwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
none givenof the steps that give a time

3 of the 5 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 2 hr 20 min.

  1. dissolve the sugar over low heat

    not timedfrom the start

  2. simmer 10 min to a light thread

    10 minwalk awayfrom the start

  3. stir in the lemon

    not timed10 min in

  4. perfume off the heat

    not timed10 min in

  5. cool 2 hr, then chill

    2 hrwalk away10 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.

You'll need saucepan

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Attar
>> category: Sauces & Gravies
>> tags: sugar syrup, middle eastern, orange blossom, pastry, component
>> counters: Shawarma Counter
>> aka: attar, ater, atar, qatr, qater, sugar syrup, simple syrup, sherbet, baklava syrup, rose syrup
>> pairs-with: pita-bread
>> servings: 16
>> time: 2 hr 20 min
>> step.1: dissolve the sugar over low heat
>> step.2: simmer 10 min to a light thread
>> step.3: stir in the lemon
>> step.4: perfume off the heat
>> step.5: cool 2 hr, then chill

Dissolve @granulated sugar{2%cups}(400 g) in @water{1%cup}(240 mL) in a #saucepan{} over low heat, stirring only until the last grain has gone and not once after. Stirring a boiling syrup is how you get a pan of crystals.

Simmer @&(~1)syrup{} without stirring ~simmer{10%min}, until a drop pulled between finger and thumb draws a short thread. Any longer and it sets hard in the tray instead of soaking in.

Stir @lemon juice{1%Tbs}(15 mL) into @&(~1)hot syrup{}. The acid keeps it pourable for weeks in the fridge instead of going grainy in three days.

Take @&(~1)syrup{} off the heat and stir in @orange blossom water{1%Tbs}(15 mL) and @rose water{1%tsp}(5 mL). These go in off the heat every time — both are volatile, and a syrup perfumed while it is still boiling smells of nothing by the time it is cold.

Cool @&(~1)attar{} ~cool{2%hr}, then chill it. The rule everything it touches obeys is that the two must be at opposite temperatures: cold syrup onto a hot tray of baklava, or hot syrup over cold cake. Hot on hot goes soggy, cold on cold sits on the surface.