Frozen Spiced Punch (c. 1923) ★★★★

12:00 AM 1920s , 20th century , 4 stars , dessert , frozen dessert , gluten-free , interwar , united states , vegan 0 Comments

I've had my ice cream maker (thanks to Mr. Man for that birthday gift!) sitting in the freezer for months now, and I keep forgetting to use it! So when I came across this unique frozen dessert, I knew it was time to finally pull it out and make something. I ended up messing it up a bit, so I poured the half-frozen punch into a 9x9 pan and froze it overnight. Dessert for breakfast anyone? It's got fruit, so it's healthy, right?!

Original Recipe:
Something entirely different in the way of a frozen dessert can be made by making frozen spiced punch according to the accompanying directions. A dessert of this kind is a fitting conclusion to a meal that is somewhat hearty and varied in its nature.

Sufficient to serve six.

6 cloves
2-inch stick cinnamon
1 quart water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 drops wintergreen oil

Put the cloves and cinnamon into the water, place over the fire, bring to the boiling point, and then add the sugar. Cook together for a few minutes, remove from the fire, and cool. Add the pineapple, orange, and lemon juice, strain, add the wintergreen oil, and freeze.

The Verdict:
Oddly...this tasted like rootbeer? Like a really fresh, fruity root beer. Totally was NOT expecting that!
(Okay, I looked up root beer and apparently some common flavours include clove, cinnamon, and wintergreen, so there you go)
I think I overdid the wintergreen juuuust a tad, though. I always second guess myself and end up adding too much of something or cooking something just a bit extra...*sigh*. It got really strong after freezing too, so don't be afraid to be a bit stingy with ingredients. But this is good! It's like a fruity, root beer-y, christmas-y granita. Yum!

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Volume 4)

6 CLOVES (was strong, try with 3-4?)
1 2-inch CINNAMON STICK
4 cups WATER
2 cups SUGAR
1/2 cup PINEAPPLE JUICE
1/2 cup ORANGE JUICE (~ 1/2 a large orange)
1/2 cup LEMON JUICE (~ 1 medium lemon)
4 drops WINTERGREEN OIL (~ 1/8 teaspoon or less)

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the water, cloves, and cinnamon stick until boiling. Add the sugar and cook until dissolved.
2. Remove the water from the heat and let cool. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions or in a large pan in the freezer, scraping every 30 minutes until no liquid remains.