Queimada
Halloween special!
Ingredients for a good party
- 1 bottle of aguardiente de orujo (or a similar strong white spirit, like grappa)
- 150 grams sugar
- the skin of 1 lemon
- whole coffee grains, a handful
Preparation: Queimada is a traditional Galician drink based on the local spirit Orujo and sugar, set on fire during its preparation. Due to the nature of Queimada, please make sure you prepare it only outside and away from anything that may catch fire.
Pour all the ingredients on a large and wide terracotta bowl. Stir using a terracotta or metal ladle.
Take some of the liquid with the ladle and carefully set on fire with a long gas lighter. The liquid may not ignite right away and the flame may be difficult to see so you’ll need to be extra careful. Allow the ladle’s contents to burn for a few seconds, then slowly return to the bowl to transfer the flames to the rest of the liquid.
Stir carefully using the ladle until most of the sugar is dissolved. Take the ladle out and pat dry with a cloth, then add 1/2 tbsp of sugar to it and place above the flames until the sugar turns into a thick syrup. Pour over the flaming mix and mix carefully as you watch the flames turn blue.
Read the spell and wait for the flames to go out completely. Serve and enjoy immediately using terracotta cups.
Presentation: Queimada is always cooked outside, with the bowl set on the ground or on top of a fireproof surface (rock, metal table, etc). It’s cooked at night, when the flames are most spectacular. The party stands around the bowl in a circle holding their terracotta cups while only one person prepares it. As the blue flames rise, everyone recites the Queimada Spell.
When Queimada is enjoyed at student parties, which is often, the terracotta bowl may be replaced by an old metallic saucepan you wouldn’t mind ruining a bit and the cups will be replaced by tea mugs.
Cooking tip: This is a delicious coffee-flavoured warm drink, which is quite strong as well so as they say, enjoy it responsibly. Make sure you make enough of it in one go. you don’t want to be playing with a large hot flame after having had a few glasses of Queimada. Once the flame has dissappeared it is quite safe to bring it inside, where it will keep warm and delicious for longer.
About this dish: Its origins are lost in history. Drinking Queimada is a ritual to be shared.
During the Spanish Civil War it was drunk in the camps of Galician soldiers who missed their land.
But what is really special about this recipe is that, while it is being prepared, people recite a very special spell to do away with all the ills of the soul… and scare the witches. In this tradition there is a lot that is pagan and mysterious. Everyone sitting in the dark, forming a circle around the pot, stirring, casting the spell.
Galicia is known all over Spain as the land of the Meigas (witches). Ask a Galician if they believe in witches and they all say:
I don’t believe in them… but they do exist.
Curiosity: Queimada is always prepared while reding the Queimada spell. Here it is in the original Galician language, with an English version below.
Mouchos, coruxas, sapos e bruxas.
Demos, trasnos e dianhos, espritos das nevoadas veigas.
Corvos, pintigas e meigas, feitizos das mencinheiras.
Pobres canhotas furadas, fogar dos vermes e alimanhas.
Lume das Santas Companhas, mal de ollo, negros meigallos, cheiro dos mortos, tronos e raios.
Oubeo do can, pregon da morte, foucinho do satiro e pe do coello.
Pecadora lingua da mala muller casada cun home vello.
Averno de Satan e Belcebu, lume dos cadavres ardentes, corpos mutilados dos indecentes, peidos dos infernales cus, muxido da mar embravescida.
Barriga inutil da muller solteira, falar dos gatos que andan a xaneira, guedella porra da cabra mal parida.
Con este fol levantarei as chamas deste lume que asemella ao do inferno, e fuxiran as bruxas acabalo das sas escobas, indose bañar na praia das areas gordas.
¡Oide, oide! os ruxidos que dan as que non poden deixar de queimarse no agoardente, quedando asi purificadas.
E cando este brebaxe baixe polas nosas gorxas, quedaremos libres dos males da nosa ialma e de todo embruxamento.
Forzas do ar, terra, mar e lume, a vos fago esta chamada: si e verdade que tendes mais poder que a humana xente, eiqui e agora, facede cos espritos dos amigos que estan fora, participen con nos desta queimada.
Owls, frogs and witches.
Demons and evil devils, spirits of the snowy plains.
Crows, salamanders and witches, spells in the healers.
Putrid canes holes, worms and household vermin.
Fire souls in grief, the evil eye, black spells, smell of the dead, thunder and lightning.
A dog barks, announcement of the death; Nosed satyr and the rabbit’s foot.
Sinning language of the poor woman married to an old man.
Hell Satan and the Devil, fire of burning corpses, mutilated bodies of indecent farts of hellish asses, brave roar of the sea.
Belly useless for the unmarried woman, meowing of cats in heat, bad hair and dirty of the goat birthed wrong.
With this hunting adjourn the flames of the fire that is similar to that of hell, and will flee witches straddling their brooms, going to bathe at the beach sands fat.
Listen, listen! Roars giving those who can not fail to burn in the liquor become purified.
And when this beverage down our throats, remain free of the ills of our soul and every spell.
Forces of the air, land, sea and fire, I make this appeal to you: If it’s true that you have more power than the human people, here and now, make that the spirits of the friends who are outside, to participate with us in this Queimada.
This is what it feels like taking part on a Queimada night in Spain
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