Southern Fried French

The French Discover Iced Tea, Sort Of

Umm...this is Iced Tea?

"Three’s a Trend", right?  So after never once in 20 years seeing iced tea in France, nor anywhere in Europe for that matter, I encountered it three times this week. Il est arrivé!

But as usual, the French have put their own spin on a Southern Classic. And I have to say we southerners are a bit fussy about our iced tea, which has been called “the house wine of the South". So you French folks, while you know your wine way better than we ever will, you might need a bit of education on iced tea (just as the Brits have had to educate me about making the perfect cup of hot tea: see Tea with a Twist.).

But then, the American market has messed with our iced tea as well. I remember the first time I saw a bottle of ice tea for sale. What?! I was incredulous that anyone would pay for this. If there’s anything easier to make then iced tea, I don’t know what it is. And it’s best homemade, served up fresh as a summer daisy and icy cold.

My first encounter with French iced tea this week, which they call thé glacé, was at a PHARMACY of all places. To understand how strange this is, you should know that French pharmacies are not like CVS or Rite-Aid; they only sell health and personal care products. What was on their summer-special  display were big pouches of iced tea to wake you up, put you to sleep, cool you off, improve your health, and other such “flavors”. I assume there were tea bags inside of the pouches.

At the pharmacy, the Panda Tea sign says, "Teas for the well-being of the entire family. " No wonder Madame is scraching her head.

 

I saw some bags again in another shop. Translation of the flavors: "Caressing Coconut", "For the Love of Organic Strawberries", and "The Wellpring of Maoris". Hmm. 

 

Then the third time, on the menu of a nice restaurant where we were lunching: Special drink of the day, Thé Glacé, 4 euros!

Of course I had to order it. Quel surpris: This was NOT southern iced tea. No one asked me, “sweet or unsweet?”. And it arrived in a tiny glass. And it was almost clear! Plus it had flowers in it. It wasn’t particularly cold. I asked the waiter what sort of tea it was: “Green tea, Madame”, he said. A strange choice, in my book. See photo of my thé glacé at top.

So as an experiment, I later ordered a thé glacé at our local café. It was market day and it was an unseasonably hot 98 degrees, so I was looking forward to something large and icy.

It came in a very small bottle (peach flavored) with a small glass with exactly one tiny ice cube in it. 

One pitiful ice cube? Just no.

So, for the French, here is a primer on how to make Southern Iced Tea:

Southern Sweet Tea (or unsweetened, if you must) is made not by the glass but in a big pitcher and kept in the fridge, ice cold. It will keep for about a week.

Now THIS is Southern Sweet Tea (photo courtesy of the Kitchn)

The absolute laziest way:  

Fill a pitcher with water, drop 3 Lipton family sized tea bags in it, and leave it overnight to steep. Remove tea bags and you’re done.

Sun tea: 

As above, but put the pitcher in the sun for about three hours. It should be in a clear glass container.

The above methods are best for unsweetened tea. If you want to add sugar, you’ll want to use the method below, nearly as easy, also faster.

The Classic Way: Sweet-tea is sort of one word in Southern, and this is my method for it. Boil a large pot of water. up to a cup of sugar per gallon for sweet tea, but I put just 2 tablespoons for a large pitcher, for lightly sweet. You’ll need to experiment a bit here to see how you like it. 

Use 3 family sized black tea bags per gallon (or a dozen small ones), brand of your choice. Nothing fancy, Lipton or Tetley will do. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and let steep for a while. Five minutes is the minimum, but I leave it 20 minutes or more then dilute it. Remove tea bags and  stir in the sugar. Cool and pour into a large glass pitcher. Add more water to taste, stir, and chill.

If you have a household with tea drinkers of various tastes, make two pitchers, one fully sweet and one not, and folks can combine them as they pour their own glass.

To serve: 

Pour into a glass over lots of ice. A slice of lemon or lime or a sprig of mint is not really optional.

What do you think? How do you make your iced tea, and have you encountered iced tea in France?

 

Favorite TV: I like to watch European shows, bien sûr, and our favorite one lately is one our kids told us about called Signora Volpe. Watch it for the beautiful Italian scenery! 

 

 

 

 

The Art of the Detail

Details details! It's what makes French architecture, from a distant era, so interesting and beautiful. And nothing speaks of beauty like the French door and the French window. Which is why I always seem to end up with a collection of them in my photo files.

In a French town or village, there are often rows of stucco or stone townhouses, close to the road. So sometimes a door or window is what gives  these rows of homes a soul, and they are often adorned with flowers or lace curtains or fancy doorknockers.

And then there are the elaborate carved window and door details from historic buildings that stop you in your tracks. So from the lowliest abode to the finest château, here are some French windows and doors to make you smile.

 

A carving over a medieval gothic window

 

Windows like these, common in France, are called oeil de boeuf, a bull's eye window. But this is the first one I've seen with a fitted shutter.

 

White roses, lace curtains--oh so French!

 

Some fabulously ornate windows in Nancy

 

Love the peephole!

 

A couple of lovingly adorned windows on street-front houses:

A flowery wall frames this arched window

 

Here I was intrigued by the wonderful peeling paint, the collapsing shutters, and the small effort of the five plastic roses stuck in abandoned window boxes

 

A very old and unique doorway in Saint-Gengoux-le-Nationale

 

This old door, in the Lanquedoc, is about 4 feet tall

 

Two very pretty entries in Châteauneuf

 

Brass bells are common doorbells for houses in la campagne

 

I love the serious overhang on this door in Mersault, like the dome on a church

 

In Beaune, a back-alley entrance to a cooking store

 

At the Château de Bagnols in the Beaujolais,a very old and impressive entry door

 

Even the backplates for a lock get special attention

 

Right on the street,  an entry with no front yard gets dressed up with a pretty doorway and a grapevine

A lovely doorway at the Château Sainte-Sabine

 

Our reader and friend, artist Tom Vieth, is obviously taken with French doorways as well

You can see more of his paintings here.

 

In the COMMENTS: Paula, sorry about your tulips, and I have no idea how the gardens keep them on schedule and perfect. Cindy, rivers of color is right, it was spectacular. Hi there Virginia, and yes, with Joan and Benito, it was fun. Bonnie, glad you enjoyed Beaune. And isn't it fascinating that the variegated tulips were caused by a virus? Hi Thea, and yes, we are carrying on, Covid-cautious but still having fun.

Favorite Reads: Our official Reader Natalia says she heard The Anomaly, by Hervé Le Tellier, was great --but she can't get into it. Have you read it? Meanwhile, I reserved a copy of the mystery The Paris Apartment, but my husband got hold of it and now he won't let it go!