SC - RE:SC FEAST BEVERAGES

[RANDALL DIAMOND]

Mordonna the Cook wrote:
>>Sweetened Ice Tea is insidious in Southern Life.  The only meal where it
is
not commonly served is breakfast.  We take it in our thermoses to work.  We
drink it with meals.  We drink it in the evenings watching TV, or sitting on
the porch, or reading, or sewing, or participating in our hobbies.  We get
up
in the middle of the night and have a glass or two.  Some of us never drink
water.  Some of us never drink coffee, or soda.  Some of us never touch
alcohol, but we ALL drink ice tea.  It's use has evolved in the last few
decades to the point that you can get Unsweetened Tea at most restaurants,
but only as an alternative.  They still serve the sweet stuff.  I remember
how surprised I was when I moved out here that the tea in the pitcher on the
table at the restaurant wasn't sweet, they didn't have any that was
presweetened, and I had to sweeten my own!
For those new to the list, we had a discussion on here not so very long ago
on the proper way to sweeten tea.  Most of us born in the South who learned
to cook in the South aqreed that it must be at room temperature or warmer to
be properly sweetened.  Colder temperatures result in having undisolved
sugar
crystals and having to use much more sugar to get the proper degree of sweet
taste. <<

One thing about iced tea that rattles folks not from the
South is that its ALWAYS in season.  It never fails to
shock a New England waiter for a southerner to ask
for iced tea in the middle of winter.  They also bring it
out in tiny little glasses.  Any decent southern restaurant
serves iced tea in a MINIMUM 16 ounce glass.   24 is
much better and approaches what we in the deep south
call an iced tea glass (24-32 ounces).  I don't think they
every HEARD of an iced teaspoon.  And they are awed
that we expect unlimited free refills of out giant size glass
to boot!

One thing though puzzles me, by what magical process
do they UNsweeten tea in Meridies?  If someone would
be so kind to let me know, maybe it will work on getting
excess toothpaste back in the tube also.  Seriously, I
do wonder from whence the term "unsweetened tea"
derives as it seems to be a very Southern idiom.

There is a very funny little book called "The Southern
Belle Primer or Why Princess Margaret Will Never Make
Kappa Kappa Gamma" that has some great stuff on
southern culinary idioms and customs.  Like serving
deviled eggs on a plate is "tacky".  True belles use an
egg plate.  It is also considered the height of "tacky"
to use dark meat in your chicken salad.  How utterly
charming and in fact true!

Akim
"No glory comes without pain"