I did not grow in up the south. We moved to Texas when I was about 10 or 11, but by the time I was 16 I recognized that sweet tea was an institution that was taken as seriously as football in this area.  Not everyone could make it right. My mom, for example, bless her Midwestern heart, bought presweetened instant tea with lemon.  God rest her soul.

No, tea was an art form, perfected by generations of women that talked like Paula Deen, and knew that sweet tea was the answer to everything life threw at their families.  Open any refrigerator door in the South in the early 1970s and there would be a pitcher (probably tupperware) of sweet tea looking back at you.  Center shelf.

We created out Farrah Fawcett hair styles with a blow dryer, round brush, hair spray, and a big glass of sweet tea.  We chatted around the dinner table in our avocado and orange kitchens over pitchers of sweet tea.  In fact, the day that Nixon resigned I watched with a glass of sweet tea in hand.  There was protocol, tradition, and several pounds of Domino sugar in that tea.

What wine is to the French and Italians, what vodka is to the Russians, and what beer is to the Germans, sweet tea is to any southerner worth their hushpuppies.

C’mon, you know it is true. Sunday afternoon? Wyatts cafeteria? Fried catfish? Sweet tea!

There is only one way to make sweet tea.  The sugar can’t be added last.  You have to bring the water and the sugar to a simmer until the sugar dissolves.  Then you steep your tea.  Then you let it cool at room temperature. Then, and only then can you refrigerate it.

There will be no silliness like adding sugar to all ready prepared unsweetened tea. Just pour that stuff on your roses.

Make yourself a big pitcher of sweet tea, pour it over ice, and drink it out of a mason jar.  That’s some real southern libations, y’all.

If you need more instructions than that…well, you are obviously from the north…but here they are How to Make Tea, Hot or Sweet. Scroll to the  bottom of the page.

image:maryeaudet

Post from: Kettle and Cup