User:Jordano53/Sweet tea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sweet tea, also known as sweet iced tea, is a style of iced tea commonly consumed in the United States, primarily in the American South, where it is considered a staple of the region's cuisine. It is also consumed in Indonesia. Sweet tea is prepared by adding a sweetener, often sugar, to black tea.
.jpg)
Preparation
Recipes for sweet tea vary, however the hallmark features include the addition of a sweetener— oftentimes sugar, simple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners, to black tea while the tea is hot.[1] Variations may include steeping the tea with oranges, cinnamon, or mint.[2]
Some recipes call for baking soda to be added to cancel out the natural bitterness of the tea.[3]
Nutrition
History
United States
Iced tea as a concept first began to appear in American newspapers in the 1850s, though it was considered a luxury as it was difficult at the time to keep ice frozen, and as such needed to be harvested from frozen lakes. The first known recipe for sweet tea came in the year 1877 from one "Mrs. S.T.", with the publication of the recipe book Housekeeping in Old Virginia. At the time, green tea was more commonly used for iced tea beverages.[3] The recipe read:
After scalding the teapot, put into it one quart of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls green tea. If wanted for supper, do this at breakfast. At dinner time, strain, without stirring, through a tea-strainer into a pitcher. Let it stand till tea time and then pour into decanters, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the pitcher. Fill the goblets with ice, put two teaspoonfuls granulated sugar in each, and pour the tea over the ice and sugar. A squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency.
— Mrs. S.T., Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1877)[4]
The rise of sweet tea as a hallmark of Southern cuisine is often attributed to the foundation of the first American tea plantation in the town of Summerville, South Carolina, in 1888. Owned and operated by Charles Shepard, the plantation cultivated about 100 acres of tea, a negligible amount compared to America's total tea production. Despite this, the town of Summerville bills itself as the "Sweet Tea Capital of the World."[3]
Indonesia
In popular culture
In the 1989 film Steel Magnolias, character Truvy Jones, portrayed by Dolly Parton, calls sweet tea the "house wine of the South".[5]
