With its taste of cloves, reyhan şerbeti (a sweet, aromatic drink made with purple basil) makes me forget everything else I might want to write. It seems to say: Tatlı içelim, tatlı konuşalım (let’s drink something sweet and speak kindly to one another).

You cannot change your childhood. But if, as an adult, you have the chance to create gentler new memories with your parents, you really are lucky. That is what this sherbet has taught me.

The recipe

For one bunch of purple basil

Pick the basil from the garden and remove the leaves one by one. If you bought it from a greengrocer, wash it thoroughly.

Six glasses of water and one small glass of sugar

Six or seven cloves

One or two cinnamon sticks

The juice of one lemon

Bring the water, lemon juice, cloves, cinnamon and sugar to the boil in a saucepan. Once it boils, turn off the heat and add the basil. When it has cooled, strain and refrigerate. Serve over ice if you like. Afiyet olsun (may you enjoy it).

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My father’s purple basil sherbet