This is my gran's tea pitcher and this is the only pitcher I remember her using and she used it everyday. So what, you may ask, well, this pitcher is stoneware and weighs about ten pounds.... empty. Fill this pitcher up with a gallon of tea and it weighs, like, a gazillion pounds. I don't remember granny having arms like superwoman, but she must have had super strength to have heaved this on a daily basis. Lifting this is probably why she outlived all of her siblings but one. As much as I love this pitcher, it ranks right up there with her cast iron cookware in my heart, it's just too heavy for me. I'd like to think that I'm as much of a woman as my gran was, but the truth is, I don't even come close. My tea pitcher is a one gallon rubbermaid pitcher I use when I'm making the tea, and then I have smaller decorative pitchers for serving. It is sad to see it unused and maybe,one day, a child of mine will resurrect it.
Sweet Tea
5 family size tea bags (I use Luzianne)
1 to 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups boiling water (microwave or stovetop)
Bring water to a boil and drop in tea bags and let steep, or, place the tea in cold water, bring to a boil and let steep.
Place sugar to taste in bottom of pitcher and pour hot tea into pitcher.
Add water to used tea bags and set aside to steep.
Stir hot tea and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
Add steeped tea to tea and sugar mixture.
After sugar is dissolved, continue to add water to used tea bags (the tea bags will steep less and less and the water will be lighter every time) and
pour into tea and sugar mixture until gallon sized pitcher is full.
I don't add anything else to the tea, but you can add crushed mint leaves, sliced lemons, etc....
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This post resonated with me for a variety of reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst: I'm glad to see this recipe. When it comes to sweet tea - I have my cheap plastic pitcher and it's the only pitcher in which I know the proper measurements to make sweet tea; give me a different pitcher with different dimensions and I'm lost. I'll definitely be trying this recipe!
Second: I recently inherited many of my grandmother's kitchen tools and cookbooks. My grandmother is a serious kitchen whiz with all kinds of tools and although I'm very glad to have them, I doubt I'll use them all in my lifetime. I LOVE your Granny's pitcher and the story behind it.
One thing I should have added is that this tea is strong. This was the way I grew up preparing it and what my family is used to. You can adapt it for any size container by adjusting the number of tea bags and sugar... I've always used the family sized tea bags because they are more economical and easier to "figure", meaning how many to take out or add.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I've got most of my grandmother's kitchen stuff and much of it is in storage. The more I'm cooking like my grandmother did, the more I find myself going back and retrieving different items. There may be new and improved cookware, but it is the memories that draw me to my grannies stuff. Most of what I cook during the week is quick and easy. As my children have grown, it has become more and more important to me to maintain the tradition of a weekly Sunday lunch and holiday cooking. As you can see by the photos, I have a large family and when I cook for Sundays and holidays, it is a time consuming endeavor. We are all reaping the benefits that go well beyond nutrition.
I appreciate your post... I have been receiving many emails in response to this blog, mainly from friends and family, but no one will post to the blog. I'm requesting everyone who emails a response to post them on the blog instead, but, to no avail. I've linked to your blog, so maybe we'll both pick up some new readers. :) Deidre