Recipe: Sweet Tea Concentrate

SWEET TEA CONCENTRATE

"On family reunion day, Grandmother would spread towels in the back of her car and then pack it basket by basket, dish by dish, and plate by plate until filled to the brim. But, as delicious as everything was, I always dreaded riding with her and Granddaddy to the reunion. You see, my sister and I were responsible for making sure that the many gallons of tea she'd made didn't tip and spill on the ride! Fast-forward a few decades, when our friend Christy taught me about sweet tea concentrate. One recipe makes sixteen individual servings or a gallon of tea, and it is so much easier to keep in the refrigerator - or take along with you to family reunions! For me it was a revelation. The baking soda makes the tea less bitter and keeps it from becoming cloudy."



1 quart water
4 family-size tea bags
1 to 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch of baking soda

TO MAKE THE CONCENTRATE:
Bring 1 quart water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and drop in the tea bags. Let steep for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the sugar (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it) in a 1-quart Mason jar. Remove the tea bags, carefully pressing the bags against the side of the saucepan before discarding them. Pour a little of the tea into the Mason jar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour in the remaining tea. Stir in the baking soda, which prevents the tea from becoming cloudy and bitter, and screw the lid on the jar tightly. The concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

TO MAKE THE TEA:
To make a glass of tea from this concentrate, pour 1/4 cup of the concentrate into a glass, add ice, and fill with 3/4 cup cold water.

To make a gallon, pour all of the concentrate into a gallon pitcher and fill with cold water.

Makes 4 cups concentrate for 1 gallon or 16 individual servings of tea
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Adapted from source: Add a Pinch: Easier, Faster, Fresher Southern Classics by Robyn Stone