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04/13/2001 Archived Entry: "Ribena"

Ribena is a very important part of my life. I should really say Ribena Toothkind, considering that the other versions of the cordial simply don't match up on taste and aren't as healthy. But it's all Ribena.

I must've gotten hooked on Ribena perhaps up to a decade ago although my real consumption only started maybe four or five years ago. Ribena is one of those rare drinks that is extremely tasty yet also very versatile; simply by changing the amount of dilution, you can vary the taste. And of course the possibilities don't end there; Ribena can be used in conjunction with 7-Up and indeed any sort of alcoholic spirit (however, I don't really do the latter).

As any true Ribena connoisseur will tell you, Ribena is best served as cold as it can get without turning into slush; this is what prompted me to say, when asked how I liked my Ribena, "chilled."

Ribena does have one sticking point though; it requires extra preparation. Some might argue that this preparation time is simply a prerequisite for its unrivalled customisation and personalisation facilities but in today's modern world, time is the limiting factor - and I'm ashamed to say that sometimes I have to agree. Of course, there are workarounds. The best trick is to simply get a large drinks container and prepare batches of Ribena at a time, thus reducing overall preparation time. I've found that this works well although it does significantly increase my consumption as I can take a swig any time I want.

For the real Ribena power-drinker, you'll want to keep this batch safely in the fridge. Alternatively, a trade-off which I employed for a few months was to keep a container of chilled water in the fridge which I could add to Ribena for a pre-chilled drink. It's true that ice can also chill a drink but it just doesn't do it quick or fully enough.

A neat trick that works is to take a glass of 7-Up, put a few ice cubes in and then carefully add some Ribena. If all goes well, the Ribena will stay at the top of the glass, sending tendrils further doing, providing a very aesthetically pleasing look which will be sure to wow anyone watching.

The bottle pictured above is a special two litre plastic bottle. At first I thought this was a blessing since it obviously saves money and reduces the amount of time spent putting a used bottle in the rubbish and opening a new bottle (you may laugh but it all adds up). However, the truth is that the plastic bottles inevitably do not provide the same amount of protection as glass bottles, resulting in unpleasant experiences where, upon unscrewing the cap, a small quantity of cordial will leak out.