Keeping Cool for Pennies: Thrifty Cold Beverages Through the Decades

image: Clay Banks on Unsplash

When the mid-July heat peaks, I find myself seeking the most thirst-quenching beverages I can get my hands on. It would be incredibly easy to pick up cases of specialty canned seltzers or make a pass through the coffee shop drive-thru for an icy frappuccino. But as I was harvesting mint from the garden this week, my mind began wandering back through our kitchen history.

How did our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers keep their families refreshed during hot summer afternoons without modern refrigeration for many of those years and while keeping thrift in mind?

If you look back through the decades starting around 1900, you find a beautiful, resourcefulness timeline. Our ancestors didn't look at a bare pantry as a limitation; they looked at it as an invitation to create something special out of next to nothing. Let’s take a nostalgic, icy stroll down memory lane to see what a thrifty glass of summer looked like through the generations.

1900s: The Field-Worker’s "Switchel" 

Switchel was a popular drink from about the late 17th century on. By the end of the 19th century it became a cooling beverage for farmers working in the field during hay harvest, hence the alternate name Haymaker's Punch. Haymaker's Punch was the original thirst-quenching "sports drink." It was made from pantry and cellar basics, and it was said to be better tolerated when the body was hot from work out in the sun than plain cold water.

On farms it was most likely non-alcoholic. However, at sea and in our own country's houses of congress, rum was often added. But that's not what we're here for today, right?

Haymaker's Punch was a simple beverage blending cool water, molasses, apple cider vinegar, and fresh or dried ginger. Here's a recipe to explain the proportions:

Switchel or Haymaker's Punch (recipe from Almanac.com)

• 1 gallon water
• 1 1/2 cups molasses
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

Honey or maple syrup might traditionally be substituted for the molasses. For modern tastes, the sweetening can be reduced. It's better to under-sweeten and need more than to over-sweeten and have to expand the recipe.

1920s: The Prohibition Mocktail

During the Prohibition period in the US, one ancient cool beverage made a comeback, the shrub. A shrub is a drinking vinegar, so to speak -- a combination of fruit and sweeteners with a hefty splash of vinegar. During Prohibition, shrubs became respectable, refreshing alternatives to the then-prohibited alcoholic beverages. Their taste was slightly sophisticated, with a balance of sharp and sweet. Shrub flavors varied by local and seasonal harvests, most often featuring berries, peaches, or citrus.

Cooks steeped the fruit in vinegar for several days. The fruit was then strained out of the liquid, and the liquid was then boiled with sugar to make a shelf-stable syrup. Next, the syrup was mixed with sparkling water or ginger ale over ice in ratios of approximately 1 part syrup to 4 parts sparkling water or ginger ale. A thriftier version was made by many folks, using still water in place of sparkling or ginger ale.

There's been a resurgence of interest in shrubs as a beverage in recent years, and many recipes online can be found. Here's a good one from Bon Appétit:

Shrub Syrup (recipe from Bon Appétit)

• 12 ounces fresh berries (if using strawberries, slice and quarter)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vinegar (apple cider would be most authentic, but other vinegars also work)

Gently mash the berries in a bowl with a fork. Transfer to a clean glass jar, add sugar and stir to combine. Seal jar, and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 day, until berries are falling apart and sugar is mostly dissolved. Shake several times during this process.

Strain the fruit mixture through a mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean bowl. Discard the fruit. Scrape any remaining sugar in the jar into the bowl.

Add vinegar to the syrup and stir to combine. Taste the shrub and adjust sweetening or vinegar to taste. The shrub should taste both sweet and sharp, but not overpowering in either direction. Pour into a clean jar and cover with a lid. Refrigerate for 1 week. Flavors will continue to meld over the next 7 days.

For a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, pour 2 tablespoons shrub syrup over ice into a tall glass. Top off with club soda; stir gently to combine. Garnish with berried and/or herbs, such as a sprig of mint.

1930s: The Great Depression Orangeade

During the economically brutal years of the 1930s, fresh citrus was a rare and precious treat. To make a single, expensive orange stretch to feed an entire family, clever home cooks developed the Extended Orangeade. They would boil the rinds with some sugar and water to extract every drop of aromatic citrus oil, strain the syrup, and mix with the juice of that lone orange and a large pitcher of ice water. 

In some homes, the orange would be peeled and divided between family members with dessert, and the zest alone would be used to make the syrup, adding a bit of citric acid for tartness. By the mid-1930s citric acid had became a common kitchen ingredient, as production methods for this chemical changed to make it extremely affordable for household use. 

With or without the citric acid, it tasted incredibly rich and festive, but cost almost nothing to scale up for a crowd. 

Here are two recipes for you, one using citric acid, and one with lemon juice:

Orangeade Syrup Using Citric Acid 

enough syrup for 4 to 6 glasses of Orangeade

• zest from 2 large oranges, avoid the white pithy part
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered citric acid

Place the sugar, water, and orange zest into a small saucepan.

Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid until dissolved. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes.

Pour the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean jar, discarding the peels.

To serve: Stir 2 to 3 tablespoons of syrup into a glass of cold water with ice.

Orangeade Syrup Using Lemon Juice (not as historically accurate, but more accessible for modern kitchens) 

enough syrup for 4 to 6 glasses of Orangeade

• zest from 2 large oranges (avoid the white pith)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4  cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed or bottled)

Place the sugar, 1/2 cup of water, and orange zest into a small saucepan.

Heat over medium, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer gently for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

Cover the pan and let the orange rinds steep in the hot syrup for 30 minutes to extract the orange oils.

Strain the syrup into a jar, discarding the peels. Stir the 1/4 cup of lemon juice directly into the strained, cooled syrup.

To serve: Stir 3 to 4 tablespoons of syrup into a glass of cold water with ice.

The 1940s: Wartime Mint Tinkle

With sugar strictly rationed to support the war effort, home cooks became inventive in creating cooling drinks to beat the summer heat. Victory gardens and basic pantry staples came to the rescue. 

The Mint Tinkle fit seamlessly into wartime rationing by being sugar-efficient, non-alcoholic, and a great stretcher of scarce ingredients. In place of white sugar, corn syrup or honey were often substituted. Garden peppermint or un-rationed extracts provided bargain and readily available flavor. Canned grapefruit juice, while rationed, was available. And in a tinkle, only a small amount of grapefruit juice was used per glass. The end result was a crisp, cooling drink that cost next to nothing and preserved precious household rations.

Interested in giving a Mint Tinkle a try? Here's an authentic recipe:

Mint Tinkle (from Good Housekeeping, July 1945)

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 12 sprigs mint, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 1/4 cups canned grapefruit juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups carbonated water

Combine water and sugar; simmer 8 minutes. Pour over chopped mint leaves. Cool; stir into combine fruit juices and salt. Pour over ice in 4 tall glasses; add carbonated water to fill and stir. Serves 4.

Note: For extra flavor, add 1 teaspoon currant jelly to each glass of Mint Tinkle.

The 1950s: The Rise of the Pantry Packet

The post-war era brought an explosion of convenience, and suddenly, tiny paper packets of powdered, unsweetened drink mixes became a staple in almost every American pantry. The introduction of Kool-Aid Man in the 50s cemented this beverage as a favorite of many children. For a nickel a packet, a parent could mix a massive pitcher of colorful fruit drink, controlling the sugar level themselves at the kitchen counter. It became the definitive sound of a 1950s childhood: ice clinking against Mom's favorite pitcher on a shaded patio.

The 2000s and Beyond: Clean Eating and Detox Drinks

Infused waters became a spa trend around the turn of the last century. Health enthusiasts quickly picked up on this and began DIY-ing fruit, vegetable, and herb infused water in their own kitchens as a natural, calorie-free alternative to sugary drinks.

Homemade infused water is the ultimate thrifty beverage, using fruit peels or rinds, vegetable slices and ends, and garden-fresh herbs to add subtle flavor to humble tap water.

Some favorite flavor combinations:

Cucumber-Mint-Lime

Strawberry-Basil

Watermelon-Mint-Cucumber

The Timeless Thread of the Kitchen Counter

Looking back at these drinks reminds us that a refreshing summer afternoon has never depended on cans and bottles of expensive drinks. Whether it was a farmhouse kitchen in 1900 or our own countertops today, the secret has always been the same: a little bit of imagination, utilizing what we already have, and taking five minutes to slow down and savor a cold glass in the shade.


Do you have a favorite thrifty summer beverage? Share your favorite memory-lane sips in the comments below!