Summertime sippin', continued

After I talked about making iced coffee ice cubes in yesterday's blog, I was making iced green tea, and decided to make an extra batch for ice cubes ... same principle, don't dilute the beverage. Also, with all the hullabaloo about green tea being good for weight control, I thought I'd throw a few cubes in my water or in my regular iced tea for good measure.

Then, I opened the Boston Globe's Food section and read a great article about Southern sweet tea, and the varieties of iced tea available in Boston's tea houses and coffee shops.

After reading that, I thought I'd look for an authentic sweet tea recipe. I went to foodtv.com to see what Paula Dean had to say -- she seems to be the authority on all things Southern, but alas, no sweet tea recipe from Paula. I modified this 5-star recipe from a viewer (she used sugar straight, and from everything I've read, the magic to sweet tea is using simple syrup so you don't get any granule-y residue. Does anyone have a tried-and-true favorite of their own?

So everything turns out at the same time, start your simple syrup while you're boiling the water for your tea. (Simple syrup can also be used to sweeten iced tea, mint juleps or other alcohol based drinks, fruit salad, as well as a soaking liquid for in between layers of genoise cake.)

Southern Sweet Tea

8 cups water
4 small or 2 family-size tea bags
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
8 cups cold water

In a kettle, boil 8 cups water. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat the sugar and water and bring to a boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved remove from heat. Add tea bags to boiling water and remove from heat. Let steep for 5 minutes, or to taste. Strain tea into a gallon-size pitcher and add simple syrup. Add remaining cold water to pitcher and stir. Refrigerate until ready to serve.