An icy Philadelphia treat, water ice, satisfies the red drink tradition knitted into Juneteenth.
Carson Downing
you could guarantee a red drink will be on the table at nearly everyJuneteenthcelebration this summer.
Historians have traced the tradition of red drink to West Africa where red teas were made fromhibiscus.
Credit:Carson Downing
In areas where hibiscus was not easily grown, berries became the flavoring and means to color the beverage.
What Is Water Ice?
Water ice is spoonable and will mound when served in a dish.
Credit:Kelsey Hansen
This Red Drink Water Ice gets its red color fromfresh strawberriesand a strawberry syrup that is frozen then blended.
Bring to boiling over medium-high.
Reduce heat to medium and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute.
Credit:Kelsey Hansen
Let cool 30 minutes.
Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.
Chill syrup before using.
Credit:Kelsey Hansen
you could store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
For strawberry puree, in the bowl of a large food processor combine the 2 lb.
strawberries and the citric acid.
Credit:Kelsey Hansen
Cover; process until smooth.
(You should have about 4 cups.)
Transfer to an 8-cup freezer container.
Cover; freeze until firm, 3 hours to overnight.
You want the puree to be firm enough to hold its shape when broken into chunks with a fork.
If frozen overnight, let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes to soften slightly.
Using a fork, break frozen puree into 1-inch chunks.
Test Kitchen Tip: Citric acid is a preservative used to make jam.
you might substitute 1 Tbsp.
lemon juice for the citric acid in this recipe.
Cover and process until the mixture has an even, icy texture, 3 to 5 minutes.
Return to freezer container.
Cover; freeze 1 to 2 hours before serving to allow mixture to “reset.”
For serving, the texture should be like a fine, relatively soft slush.
Water ice can be reblended up to three times.
2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
