The neverending sherbet

Tükenmez is a sustainable home version of the kind of sherbet you used to buy in the street from hawkers with tanks on their backs – still seen occasionally in some parts of eastern Turkey. The street sherbets were often made with tamarind or liquorice root, while the home version uses medlars. As you’ll see in the ingredients list, I’ve suggested a variety of fruits that will contribute interesting notes to the taste, but you can keep adding cores and skins of any hard fruits that take your fancy. To get fermentation started, you need to keep the chickpeas in the water for at least five days. The liquid will continue to ferment gently once the chickpeas are removed, and you can keep refreshing the drink with water for three months. If it starts to taste like vinegar, use it as vinegar and make another batch.