Making Good Use of the Sunshine

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Freshly Brewed Sun Tea (photo: Mom's Pantry)

How to Brew Sun Tea

Safety is important when preparing sun tea, so let's start with the rules:

• Use containers and lids that have been washed in soap and hot water.  You can use a bleach solution as well to sterilize the jar ( 1 tbsp bleach per gallon water).
  
  
• If you jar has a spigot, make sure its cleaned thoroughly each time you make tea as well.
  
  
• Do not leave the tea more than 4 hours in the sun.  Make only enough for what you plan to use that day, and always refrigerate your tea after bringing it back inside. 
  

Use 3 tea bags per quart of water. You can use regular tea, or if your adventurous, try herbal teas, or a combination of teas.  Always use a jar with a lid, and leave the tea tags hanging on the outside.

Place the jar in direct sunlight and let the sun do the work for 3-4 hours.

Sure you could boil water and make your tea, but there's something inherently southern about brewing your own sun tea. We do it almost daily here when the temperatures are high in Texas. 

When its done, pour over ice, add a sprig of mint, or a slice of lemon and sit back and enjoy the lazy days of summer. (Be sure to put the rest in the fridge!)

How to Make Your Own Sun Pickles

Sun Pickles: photo credit - Irish Garden House

Other Sun Pickle Links

Granny's 14 day Sun Pickles
Heritage Recipes: Sun Pickles

*  follow traditional safe canning methods, utilizing heat processing with proper canning jars *