Iced Tea Concentrate

Iced Tea Concentrate

16  Cups  Water

1  box  Family-Size Tea Bags  (24-count)

4  Cups  Sugar, or to taste  (I'm trying to cut back on my family's Sugar and I use only 2 cups Sugar, which isn't much at all.  Start with 4 cups; if you like it Southern Style you may want as much as 6 cups Sugar.)

Bring the Water to a boil in a large pan.

Add Tea Bags; cover and let steep for 30 minutes.

While the Tea is steeping, place Sugar in a large, pourable storage container.

When the steep time is complete, removed Tea Bags, draining thoroughly.  Pour Tea over Sugar, stirring to dissolve.  Store in refrigerator.

To make a pitcher of Iced Tea, dilute the Concentrate to a ratio of 4:1, that is, four parts Water to one part Concentrate.

Serve over ice in your Great-Grandmother's Iced Tea glass with an antique silver spoon for stirring.

Makes 1 Gallon Concentrate, 5 Gallons of prepared Iced Tea.

Iced Tea Concentrate is wonderful to keep on hand out in the garage fridge--when the pitcher in the house is empty there is no panic to make more before the men come in on a hot day--just dilute the concentrate and Iced Tea is ready!  I like to use decaffeinated tea bags, which unfortunately are only available at Wal-Mart or Target in the winter.  I also like to use the store brand because they are not individually wrapped--one less step in the process.  This is especially good when made with Mint Tea; you'll need about 40 regular-size tea bags.  You can also use this to make Fake It >> Arizona Raspberry Tea.

I give credit to my Mom for this recipe; she has made Iced Tea from concentrate for as long as I can remember.

Fake It >> Lemonade, Simply

This brand of Lemonade is Simply the best.

It also seems to be one of the fastest growing brands of refrigerated Lemonade in the markets.

It's price seems to be growing, too.

When I first tasted this delicious Lemonade four years ago a carafe cost about $1.99.  Now, if I'm lucky and purchase it on sale, it is about $2.50 for a carafe.

Thankfully the Simply company has made this very simple to clone.

Here is how I did it:  The second line on the back label reads "11% Lemon Juice" and the Sugar content per serving is listed as10%.  The Ingredient List states that this Lemonade contains Pure Filtered Water, Natural Sugar, Lemon Juice, and Natural Flavors.

It becomes just a matter of doing the math:  if I want One Gallon of Lemonade (which is equal to 128 fluid ounces), then I will need 14.08 ounces of Lemon Juice (128 X .11 = 14.08).  This translates to 1-3/4 Cups plus 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice.  I will also need 10% Sugar, which is 12.8 ounces and equals to 1-3/4 Cups Sugar, plus a teaspoon or two added at the end to adjust the sweetness to taste.  Place the Lemon Juice and the Sugar in the one-gallon pitcher and fill with Water to the one-gallon mark.  Stir well and serve cold. 

Fake It  >>  Simply Lemonade

In a One-Gallon Pitcher place

1-3/4  Cups  PLUS  2  Tablespoons  Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice  (Meyer Lemon Preferred, about 8 Lemons)

1-3/4  Cups  Sugar

Fill Pitcher to the one-gallon mark with Cold Water.

Stir well and serve cold.

Makes One Gallon.

A couple of things you may have noticed: one, my Lemonade is darker than the store-bought.  I used my Meyer Lemons, which have a very sweet, but very dark juice.  Two: I didn't need to add any 'Natural Flavors'.  These 'flavors' happen to be what the citrus juice industry call "flavor packs" and are flavors added back to the pasteurised juices to replace the true flavors which are lost during the pasteurization process.  This is why different brands of Orange Juice (which may use the same variety of oranges) taste different.  Each company uses a slightly different 'flavor pack' and will vary the flavor of the finished product to suit the target market.  Orange Juice, for instance, will taste different in South America than it does here in the USA, even though it may be made by the same manufacturer.  If you want more information, google "Flavor Packs".  It'll be enough to make you never want to buy Citrus juice again.

If you play around with converting this to use alternate sugar substitutes (Stevia, Agave, or something else) would you please leave me a comment and let me know what ratios/ammounts you used?  I haven't taken the time to investigate these and would be interested in your input.  Thanks!

Perfected by the Author in her own Test Kitchen.  Approved by her Family.  Enjoyed by You.

Fake It >> AriZona Raspberry Tea

Fake It!  AriZona Raspberry Iced Tea

Add to One Gallon of your favorite Tea (sweetened to taste, without Lemon flavor):

1/2  Cup  Torani Raspberry Syrup

and

a Splash of Fresh Lemon Juice, about 2 to 4 Tablespoons

Mix well and enjoy over Ice.

Easy as pie!  Well, actually, it's easier than pie.

(Don't you just love that funny little glass pitcher?  My Grandma J. gave it to me; I just love it's odd shape and that it is turning lavendar!  And that red cloth?  I made kitchen curtains out of it and have about 4 yards of material left.  Hmmm... what to do, what to do...)