Recipe
Khus water — a cooling summer drink
- Herb:
- Vetiver Chrysopogon zizanioides
- Method:
- Cold maceration
- Plant part:
- Root
About 15 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Rinse dried vetiver roots thoroughly and snip into pieces.
- Put them in a jug with 1 l of cold water, cover and leave 4–8 hours in the cool, ideally in an earthenware vessel.
- Remove the roots (they can be dried and used once more) and strain the water.
- Flavour with lemon and a little sugar or honey, serve over ice; finish the rest by evening.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 handful (about 10 g) of dried roots per 1 l of water
- Solvent:
- cold water, 4–8 hours in a clay pot or jug
- Shelf life:
- drink over the course of the day
- Target compounds:
- traces of sesquiterpenes (khusimol, vetiverol) and an earthy scent pass into water; this is flavouring, not extraction of active substances
Notes
A traditional Indian drink for hot days, the homespun counterpart of commercial khus syrup (which is mostly coloured and flavoured artificially). The roots must be clean and food-grade — vetiver from mats or erosion-control plantings does not belong in a drink.
Why it works
Vetiver's earthy scent comes from hundreds of sesquiterpenes — the review by Belhassen et al. 2015 describes over 300, led by khusimol and vetiverol — which dissolve in water only in traces; a cold macerate is therefore scented water rather than an extract. Ayurveda counts ushira among the cooling herbs and India drinks khus against summer heat; this is tradition and taste, not a documented physiological effect.
Literature
- Belhassen E, Filippi JJ, Brévard H, Joulain D, Baldovini N (2015): Volatile constituents of vetiver: a review. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 30(1):26–82 — Review of more than 300 volatile root constituents and their origins.
Related
Vetiver — Herb card
Cold maceration — Processing method detail