The popularity of iced tea parallels the development and availability of refrigeration. LincolnвЂ™s Boston Cook Book: What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking, further proving that sweet tea wasnвЂ™t just enjoyed in the south. It wasnвЂ™t until 1884 that a recipe for sweet ice tea as we think of it was printed in Mrs.

The key difference between the two is that sweet ice tea is sweetened while still hot and iced tea is served unsweetened, with sugar available should the drinker want it. The southeastern United States claims sweet ice tea as part of their culture, but iced tea actually originated in the northeast, where ice was abundant and easy to keep in cellars from the cold winter months through most of the summer. Aside from the few minutes it takes to steep and add sugar to hot liquid, thereвЂ™s no work at all. Also, it doesnвЂ™t take much time or effort to brew iced tea at home. ItвЂ™s difficult to describe other than chemically tasting. Making iced tea at home when itвЂ™s easy to get every flavor from peach to kombucha at the gas station may seem like a waste of time, but just like most homemade foodstuffs, making your own eliminates a certain processed flavor. (Her homemade pimento cheese is the best, and I am willing to defend this opinion with fisticuffs, thank you.) Ice tea fits in this category for our family because the store-bought versions were never quite right, according to her. I was lucky enough to have a culinary curious mother who was always trying new recipes and making favorites from Virginia when she couldnвЂ™t find them in the store. Ice tea was a staple in our kitchen most of the year. While I grew up mainly in the south and live in Virginia today, even when I wasnвЂ™t living here, I was raised by a southern momma. June is National Iced Tea Month! Ice tea is something IвЂ™ve been drinking my whole life.

Half pint jars