Bouye is what Senegal calls the baobab fruit, and jus de bouye is the drink made from it: tangy, slightly sweet and creamy once milk is added. The dry, chalky pulp of the fruit dissolves in water into a smooth base, so the recipe is mostly about patience and a good sieve.
Serves: 6 glasses · Time: 30 minutes, plus chilling
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tonton Jeb Baobab Fruit pieces (pain de singe)
- 4 cups warm water
- 2 cups milk or evaporated milk (coconut milk also works)
- ½ to ¾ cup sugar, to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 sachet vanilla sugar
- Optional: a pinch of nutmeg, 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
Method
- Put the baobab pieces in a bowl with the warm water and leave for 15 minutes. The pulp will soften and start to dissolve; the seeds and fibres stay behind.
- Rub the mixture between your fingers or whisk it firmly to release all the pulp from the seeds.
- Pour through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing the solids with a spoon. Discard the seeds and fibres.
- Whisk in the milk, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg until smooth. Taste: bouye should be tangy first, sweet second.
- Chill for 2 hours. Stir before serving, as the pulp settles.
Tips from the pantry
- For a thicker, dessert-style bouye, use evaporated milk and add a spoon of sweetened condensed milk.
- Our bottled Bouye Juice is the ready-made version for days when you want it in one minute.
- The same baobab base, without milk, makes a tart lemonade-style drink with a squeeze of lime.
