Mauby
March 22, 2002
Copyright © 2002 Gale Group Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2002 Four Winds Food Specialists. All Rights Reserved.

The mauby tree (Colubrina elliptica), also known as soldierwood or ironwood, is used to produce the traditional Taino beverage of the same name. The bitter bark is first boiled, then mixed with unrefined sugar and a little previously fermented mauby (to provide active yeasts), After sitting for several days, the bubbly beverage is ready to consume. It has a slightly medicinal flavor, described as a little like fresh root beer. An unfermented type, usually served over ice, is made with freshly oiled bark (canned mauby concentrate and syrups are also available), sugar, and spices. Mauy bark is added to many Caribbean home remedies, considered therapeutic in the treatment of diabetes and diarrhea, in stimulating the appetite-- and as an aphrodisiac.