Fresh Fruit Tea Punch

Girls from the South who pledge sororities are sometimes blessed, as I was, to find a true sisterhood. My Zeta Tau Alpha sisters and I came up with a presentation of “fruit ice cubes” at our Pledge Week’s Ice Water Tea that added color and a chill factor, but no difficult fruit you didn’t know what to do with in your punch cup. Here fruit ice is applied in a punch bowl.

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 cups sugar

8 cups chilled water, divided

2 cups strong brewed tea

1 cup lemon juice

2½ cups fresh orange juice

2 cups pineapple juice

1 cup peach nectar

1 quart chilled ginger ale

Prepare the strawberry “ice” by freezing the strawberry slices in ice cube trays with water. In a saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat in 1 cup of the chilled water. When the sugar dissolves, pour the syrup into a punch bowl with the tea, lemon juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, and peach nectar. Stir in the remaining 7 cups chilled water, the strawberry ice cubes, and the chilled ginger ale just before serving.

Makes about 50 servings

All Southern dishes are
best served with a smile.