Nourishments—

Watering Down Summer

By Nancy K. Crevier

“If all the world were apple pie, and all the sea were ink, and all the trees were bread and cheese, what should we have to drink?”

This classic nursery rhyme poses a great question. Our oceans, which cover two-thirds of the earth’s surface, are not made of ink, but of water. Problem solved, one would think.

But the oceans are not made of potable water. Only .007 percent of the fresh water on the earth is accessible for drinking. Much of the fresh water is trapped in polar caps or running through aquifers deep in the ground.

The human body needs from one to seven liters of pure water every day to function at optimum levels, depending on the weather. The water cycle, fortunately, refreshes the water that all life forms need for metabolic processes and for the digestion of food. Every day, water evaporates from the ground, rises to the clouds and returns again to accommodate our needs on this planet. Without fresh water, we would perish.

Water figures prominently in many world religions. The cleansing of the soul is symbolized in the Christian practice of baptism, and water is blessed for certain rites in some practices. Hinduism, Islam and the Shinto religion of Japan honor the sacredness of water and believe it to be cleansing and purifying. Water is used for ritual washings to restore a state of purity in the practice of Judaism and is featured at Buddhist funerals.

A tasteless, odorless and generally colorless substance, water is also the universal solvent, meaning that many other substances are easily dissolved in it. It is just that quality that makes water the answer to the seemingly unquenchable thirst of summer.

What takes away the heat of a summer day more quickly than a tall glass of ice water? What do we use as a base when we make that other most summer-like of summertime drinks, lemonade? Water, of course. Water added to fruit juice concentrates makes the juice suddenly palatable and without water, where would all of the kid-friendly drink mixes be? Coffee and tea consist mainly of water, whether they are drunk iced or hot. Even alcoholic drinks are frequently mixed with water. There’s no escaping it, and who would want to?

Water blesses us, washes us, and refreshes us. Fight humidity and heat with water this summer. Mix up a few of your favorite flavors with water this summer and see how it suits you.

Iced Ginger Tea

With Lemon and Cloves

This is a traditional homemade drink that is found all across West Africa. It’s sometimes called ginger beer, though it’s not alcoholic.

1½  C fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

5 C boiling-hot water

1 Tbs whole clove

6 C water at room temperature

½ C strained fresh lemon juice

1 C sugar, or to taste

Special equipment: cheesecloth

Purée ginger with a quarter of a cup of the boiling-hot water in a food processor, then stir together with cloves and remaining boiling-hot water in a large glass or stainless steel bowl. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for two hours.

Set a sieve lined with four layers of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth over another large bowl. Pour ginger mixture into sieve, then gather up edges of cheesecloth and squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible into bowl. Discard solids, reserving cheesecloth in sieve.

Stir in four cups of the room-temperature water and lemon juice, then let stand at room temperature to hour (to allow sediment to settle).

 Ladle or pour ginger tea through sieve lined with cheesecloth, leaving any sediment at bottom of bowl.

Add sugar and remaining two cups room-temperature water, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Chill in a pitcher until cold, about 2 hours. Serve over ice.

 Makes about 12 cups.

(from Gourmet magazine,

January 2002)