Booze-free refreshers to keep you cool
Durban — The heat of summer is starting to kick in so the Independent on Saturday went searching for booze-free cooler recipes to keep the temperatures down.
Citrus peach cooler
A refreshing non-alcoholic drink, perfect for a summer garden party. If you want to make it boozy, add a little peach schnapps.
Ingredients
2 lemons, juice only
2 limes, juice only
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced
peach nectar
cloudy lemonade
a few sliced strawberries
sparkling water
mint sprigs
How to make it
Put the lemon juice and lime juice into a large jug. Add the sliced lemon and lime, and a handful of ice cubes. Add peach nectar to fill about one-third of the jug and top up to fill with lemonade.
Add the strawberries and top up with sparkling water and mint sprigs.
(from BBC Good Food bbcgoodfood.com/recipes)
Rock shandy
Ingredients
Lemonade (you can also use sugar-free lemonade for a low-calorie or diabetic version)
Soda water
Aromatic bitters like Angostura bitters are the essential ingredient of a rock shandy.
Lots of ice (or to taste).
How to make it
Add your preferred amount of ice to the glass.
Fill half the glass with soda water.
Fill the rest of the glass up with lemonade.
Add a few dashes of bitters to taste, about 5-10 splashes per drink.
Give the rock shandy a quick stir to distribute the bitters.
Decorate the glass to finish off your perfect drink.
How to make a lemon peel twisty
Use a kitchen peeler to peel a longish ribbon of lemon peel. Try to go around the widest circumference of the lemon without breaking your “string”.
Lay the string flat on a cutting board and slice a thin strip of peel along the length of the ribbon, as thick or thin as you wish.
Twist the strip around your finger to make a “spring” and hook it on the side of a glass.
(from The Cinnamon Jar, thecinnamonjar.com/)
The So-Cal Mule
Ingredients (for one)
80ml sparkling lemonade
60ml pear juice
20ml fresh lime juice
20ml maple syrup
How to make it
In a highball glass, combine limeade, juices and maple syrup, and stir.
Add ice and garnish with a sprig of mint.
(from womenshealthsa.co.za/mocktails-booze-free-recipes)
Freshly squeezed rainbow floats
Ingredients
Green
1 bunch Swiss chard or kale, rinsed and ribs removed
2 Granny Smith apples
½ English cucumber
1 lime, peeled and pith removed
25 fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 T honey
Orange
3 large carrots, rinsed and scrubbed
2 oranges, peeled and quartered
1 ripe medium pineapple, peeled and cored
Red
2 large beetroot, rinsed
2 ripe medium pineapples, peeled and cored
4 T cranberry juice
Serve with:
2 cups crushed ice
6 scoops granadilla sorbet
How to make them
1. Use a juicer to juice all the different fruits and veg according to their colour themes, each in their own jugs. Start with the green, then orange, ending with the red.
2. Place the crushed ice into kid-friendly glasses and pour the different coloured juices into each. Top with a scoop of granadilla sorbet. Serve with a paper straw in each glass.
Cook’s note: These are great juices packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. Mix them with sparkling water to dilute slightly and to give them a little fizz.
(from Siba Mtongana for taste.co.za/recipes)
Non-alcoholic sangria (Sangria Mocktail)
Ingredients
grape juice (white or red)
sparkling water
cranberry juice or orange juice
chopped fruit (grapes, oranges, tangerines, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries)
ice
How to make it
Add the grape juice, orange juice, and sparkling water and chopped fruit to a large pitcher or drink dispenser.
Place it in the fridge and let it chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
Remove from fridge, top with ice and garnish your drink with herbs and fruit before serving.
To make this drink holiday party worthy, use oranges, apples and cranberries as the fruit base, swop the red grape juice for cranberry juice, and add in a few cinnamon sticks and some star anise.
(from Recipes From A Pantry recipesfromapantry.com)
Independent on Saturday