Evening star., 1899-07-29
COOLING CUBAN DRINKS,
Some of the Concoctions That Find
Favor ON That Island.

From the New York Herald.
While the cafes at Havana are busy an
neNing American mixed drinks. and the
! Cubans are being initiated into the mys-
teries of gin iizz, mint julep and cocktails,
fair exchange being no robbery. why cam
not We learn few points from them and
vary our list Of summer beverages by add
ing to it some OF the draughts with which
the HaVancse mitigate the sufferings of
sweltering humanity when the mercury is
giddy from climbing and General Humidity
is dictator?
There are many delicious drinks .lsed in
the tropics, refreshing. cool and healhful.
, The continued heat makes alcohol danger
Gus, and the natives indulge less in distilled
liquors there than in the north. The Gu
bans, though they make no boast Of IL. are
temperate race. Unfortuua tely. their
5tbstenliOUSness is being soreiy tried since
The intervening power invested the ISL
and.
The great variety and abundance Of fruit
Is lhe basis Of the Cuban drinks and while
We have not the guanabana, anon. mango,
mdmecy, guayaha. &c, We have a large
assortment of others which may be treat
ed in Ike manner. Any fruit pressed and
pounded into Il pulp, with sugar. cracked
ice water enough to render ii liquid, makes
a ''refreScO.'
Strawberries, raspberries currants pine
| apples. melons jboth the musk and water
melonl. peaches and grapes are all excel
lent, and simple enough TO prepare. our
Kitchens, as a rule, are not supplied with
mortars. but clean wooden potato masher
and chopping bowl Will answer the purpose
for crushing soft fruits.
These fresh fruit beverages are more re-
frcsning, palatable and nourishng than
syrups. Some are good in combination, as,
for instance, CurrautS and raspberres. If
you would rather have 1t, the mixture may
be strained before serving. 50 as To remove
seeds, filaments. &c. but in Cuba the
freScO is generally taken without strainng,
and in huge glasses. a large "A = hpnUprs
Ices are preferred 10 ice cream. They may
be made simply by freezing any Of the re-
frescos indicated above.
Lemonade and orangeade are prototynes
Of this large family. The Cuban orangeade
is just the juice of the sweet, luscious or
anges. with cracked ice and dash of sher-
ry, only as a havoring. Sugar is seldom
necessary, and water only spoils ii.
Tamarindo is made by diluting tamarind
paste IN water, or by crushing the fruit to
a pulp, with plenty Of sugar, as the juice
is extremely tart. 1t possesses rare medic
inal properties and is claimed to be unex-
Celled 4 blood purifier besides being a
NEST effectual thirst quencher sun. the
taste for tamarindo is an acquired one, and
possibly il may not become popular with u.s.
What is really delightful is archata-milk
Of almonds-known here in syrup form by
its French name Of orgeat The genuine
article has delicacy which no syrup can
render. 1t may prove a little tedious 10
prepare, but is well worth the pains.
Remove the skins from a pound Of al
in boiling water. Pound them in stone
mortar until reduced to a smooth paste;
then ada water. slowly at first until the
whole gains the consistency Of cream.
Swecten and strain through napkin. Then
place on ice until very cold.
Bui is the usual Tefreshment offered at
small dances and informals during the
evening before supper is served. 1t is half
ale and half water with plenty of lemon
juice or sour orange. sugar and ice. The
combination seems queer, but its taste is
pleasant.
Garapina is very popular. The skins and
cores of pincapples are washed and placed
in a stone jar, with water enough to hide
them. The jar is covered with cloth
netting and allowed to stand out of doors
four or five days untl its contents begin
to fcrment. The liquid is then drawn oft
and is ready for use, ice and sugar being
added. If hattled it will keep without fur
ther fermentation.
The water OF green cocoanuts IS greatly
priced in The Antilles, and is ice cold in its
natural state
Another characteristic drink is water or
milk with ''panalcS.' 'azuCarilos."
These are white. spCngy sticks, like pieces
of honeycomb in form, made out of sugar
and the whites cf e-gS Tney dissolve i'm
mediateIy and give the water a rather fat
swectish taste. They are, however, highly
relished by the Cubans.