Recipes

Tea Punch

Recipe No. 15 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Beverages. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Drink

Serves 8 gallons

Recipe No. 15 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Beverages. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

Tea — 6½ ounces (¾ mess kit cup)

  • Water, fresh boiling — 7¼ gallons (29 No. 56 dippers)
  • Sugar, granulated — 3¼ pounds (1½ No. 56 dippers)

Lemon juice — 2⅓ quarts (2⅓ No. 56 dippers)*

  • Fruit juice (grape, pineapple, or grapefruit) — 3 quarts (3 No. 56 dippers)

Directions

  1. Tie tea loosely in a cloth bag.
  2. Pour freshly boiling water over tea leaves; brew 4 to 6 minutes. Remove tea bag.
  3. Add sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Chill; add fruit juices.
  4. Serve very cold.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Tea — ½ oz Water, fresh boiling — 2⅓ qt Sugar, granulated — 4¼ oz Lemon juice — 12 tbsp Fruit juice (grape, pineapple, or grapefruit) — 15⅓ tbsp

Use approximately 56 lemons. If ice is added to the punch, reduce water to 6 gallons (24 No. 56 dippers).

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 15, Beverages. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.