Jivo

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23 December 2018 at 10:28

Today is the feast day of Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland.

 

The cake is cooked and awaiting icing and decorating. 

We steeped the dry fruit in raki, whisky and other undefined spirits for a fortnight or so 

(in large screw topped ex-gherkin jars) and the kitchen smelled delicious while it was cooking.   

The steeping liquor has been bottled up for next year's cake.

The foil and candles are up on the mantelpiece, and all the cards strung up. 

If someone gets the steps out of the garage today we shall tinsel up the ceiling 

(my poor old step stool is suffering metal fatigue and no longer safe)  

and wrap the boys’ presents.

Any one passing is welcome to pop in for a taste of the little cake made from mix that couldn’t fit in the cake tin, or a sniff of the steeping liquor.

🤶🎄🎅

Now referred to as ‘jivo’ the steeping liquor is used to soak the Christmas pudding fruit (for about a month or so) until the pudding is mixed; then the Christmas cake fruit (for a few weeks).

If the dried fruit soaks up so much there is not enough jivo to cover the next batch then it is topped up with whatever is in the emptiest opened bottle in the drinks cabinet (this year rum).   

I can still smell the raki from 2018 in the current jivo.