A traditional Finnish fermented mead-like beverage strongly associated with Vappu (May Day, May 1).
Cold, fizzy, and bright with lemon, sima tastes like a gently sweet, lightly tangy sparkling lemonade with the faintest yeasty depth. The carbonation is soft and natural, not sharp. It is refreshing and unmistakably the taste of Finnish spring.
Yeast ferments the dissolved sugar, producing a small amount of carbon dioxide that naturally carbonates the drink in sealed bottles. The added sugar and raisins feed a second fermentation in the bottle, and the floating raisins signal enough gas has formed.
Variations
Made with both lemon and orange, sweetened with honey for a true mead, spiced with ginger, alcohol-free for children
On the Palate
Where Sima sits in the Finnish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
7 steps · 20 min
- 18 min
Peel the lemons, removing the white pith, and slice the peel and flesh thinly.
- 23 min
Place the lemon, white sugar, and brown sugar in a large clean container.
- 34 min
Pour over boiling water and stir until all the sugar dissolves.
- 430 min
Let the mixture cool to lukewarm so it will not kill the yeast.
Watch outCool the sweetened water to just lukewarm before the yeast goes in — anything hot kills it and the sima never carbonates.
- 53 min
Stir in a tiny amount of fresh yeast, then cover loosely and leave at room temperature.
- 610 min
After about a day, bottle the liquid, adding a few raisins and a little sugar to each bottle.
- 72880 min
Seal and refrigerate until the raisins float to the top, signaling it is carbonated and ready.
Watch outIt's ready when the raisins rise and float to the top — that's your sign enough gas has built up in the bottle.
