Peach Iced Tea
We drink gallons of iced tea year-round, and like most southerners, we drink it sweet. But in the summer months we add sunny-syrupy flavor by stirring in peaches that we’ve liquefied in a blender.
6 regular-size bags Lipton, Luzianne, or other orange pekoe black tea
1 pound ripe freestone peaches, pitted (skins left on) and cut into wedges
The tree-ripened peaches we get from Sanders Peach Stand in Filbert, South Carolina, have such an intense, honeyed sweetness that this tea needs no added sugar whatsoever. If you use unripe peaches or ones that have been trucked in from far away, you may need to add a teaspoon or so of sugar or honey, as you wish.
Bring 2 cups cold water to a boil in a saucepan or kettle. Put the tea bags in a heatproof pitcher and pour the boiling water over them. Let steep for 15 minutes.
While the tea steeps, put the peaches in a food processor and process for about a minute and a half, until they have become a smooth, thick liquid.
Press the tea bags gently against the side of the pitcher with a wooden spoon to extract the liquid remaining in the bags, and discard the bags. Add 4 cups cold water. Stir in the peach puree, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
Strain the tea through a fine-mesh strainer or a folded-over piece of cheesecloth into a serving pitcher. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve (or for up to 3 days).
Pour the tea into tall glasses filled two-thirds to the rim with ice cubes.
Variation: Peach Tea Julep
For each cocktail, pour 4 ounces (1/2 cup) Peach Iced Tea into a rocks glass filled with ice cubes. Add an ounce of your favorite bourbon or Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. Garnish with a slice of fresh peach.
Excerpted from The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern by Matt Lee and Ted Lee Copyright © 2009 by Matt Lee and Ted Lee. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
