Southerners and "Sweet Tea"
Always in my refrigerator. Always in season
Ahh, sweet tea.
The nectar of life to a Southerner, and as essential to our cuisine as fat back and turnip greens. As Dolly Parton famously said in Steel Magnolias, “Sweet Tea! House wine of the South!” And it is.
I can’t remember a single day of my life when there was not a pitcher of sweet tea in my refrigerator. Its constant presence is just a part of life. It’s the beverage of choice for lunch and supper and has been enjoyed at breakfast on hot, sultry summer days.
Some of us are even guilty of putting it in babies’ bottles. Not that I would ever do something like that.
Out of Season?
It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I learned that not everyone in the world drinks sweet tea every day. And let me tell you, it was a rude awakening, too.
It was sometime in the 1980s on a trip to Nebraska when we stopped in St. Louis for a meal. I, out of habit, ordered sweet tea to drink. After all, it was what we had at home and ordered any time we went out to eat.
Well, the waiter looked right down his nose and told me he was “very sorry, but iced tea is out of season.” Huh? Out of season? Whoever heard of such a thing!
Not to be outdone, though, I asked him if hot tea was available. “Why certainly!” he said. “Well then,” I said, “may I please have a cup of hot tea and a glass of ice?” Got my sweet tea.
Important Considerations
Don’t believe me yet about the importance of sweet tea to Southerners? When my husband’s company was planning the closing of its manufacturing facility in South Georgia years ago, they held a meeting for all the employees so that they could discuss the closure and possibilities for jobs with the company in its northeastern U.S. locations.
After some explanation, they asked if there were any questions. They expected questions about benefits, moving expenses, transition assistance. You know the usual things on the minds of people being uprooted from their homes and sent halfway across the country.
What was the first question asked? Wait for it … “Do they serve sweet tea in the company cafeteria?” I am not joking.
The Legislature Weighs In
Just in case you still don’t believe me. Back in 2003, a bill was introduced in the Georgia state legislature that would make it a misdemeanor for a restaurant that offered tea on its menu to not offer sweet tea as well. They said the next day that it was really an April Fool’s joke, but I don’t believe it.
Always in the Refrigerator
My sister has articulated the governing principle better than I ever could.
According to her, “If you come to my house, and there is no tea in the refrigerator, either a) we just finished the last pitcher, and more is in process, or b) I am sick.“
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
If you’d like to make a proper pitcher for yourself, you’ll find the recipe for Southern Sweet Tea on Lana’s Cooking at https://www.lanascooking.com/southern-sweet-tea/