July 4th Series: Part 3 Sweet Beverages

Southern pink lemonade, this and other beverage recipes below

Been looking at John James Audubon’s observation of a circa 1830 Kentucky Independence Day barbecue. Today we Americans tend to do our July 4th barbecuing with family and a few invited friends and the fireworks part of the celebration is community wide. Audubon’s travel account shows us that July 4th feast were community events in which everyone pitched in and ate well! Special occasions like July 4th were one of those few days in the year when enslaved African Americans and poor whites ate well and festivities and food lessened the distinction between blacks and whites and rich and poor ever so slightly. Below I have a link to recipes for some southern non-alcoholic beverages including sweet tea and lemonade.

Southern sweet tea and lemonade recipes: http://www.soulfoodandsoutherncooking.com/southern-beverage.html