A beverage is any drink, either hot or cold which quenches the thirst, refreshes or stimulates. The body requires liquids to help to regulate the body processes and to maintain good health. A great deal of water is lost from the body through perspiration and this must be replaced.
There are three main classes of beverages:-
1.Refreshing drinks. These quench the thirst and include all the fruit juices, cordials and aerated water. All refreshing drinks contain carbohydrates in the form of sugar, while those made from fresh fruit contain vitamin C and mineral salt as well.
2.Nourishing drinks. These drinks can be used as food when you are hungry. In fact they are used as food for young, the sick and the old who are not able to eat solid foods. All drinks containing milk are included and they supply the body with nourishment in the form of vitamins, mineral salts, proteins, fat and carbohydrates.
3.Stimulating drinks. These contain very little food value, except for a small amount of carbohydrates in the form of sugar, if sugar has been added to them. These include tea and coffee which contain stimulating substances that should not be taken in excess by young children.
Refreshing Drinks:-
Orangeade or Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients:-2 oranges or 4 limes3 tablespoons sugar¼ pint boiling water
Method:-
1.Wash and dry the fruit.2.Grate the rind into a bowl. (Do not include the white pith.)3.Add the sugar to the rind and pour boiling water over it.4.Cover the syrup and let it infuse for about 15 minutes.5.Cut each fruit in half cross ways. Cut a thin slice for garnishing and squeeze the juice from the rest of the fruit.6.Strain the fruit juice and cold syrup into a clean glass jug and add enough cold water to make it up to 2 pints.7.Chill the drink in the refrigerator.8.Add a few ice cubes and place the slice of fruit over the edge of the jug neatly before serving.9.Serve the drink by placing the jug on a plate to catch the drips and set the jug and clean glasses on a clean and neat tray.
Pineapple Crush Recipe
Ingredients:-1 small pineapple1 lime2 sprigs mint leaves3 tablespoons sugar¼ pint boiling water
Method:-
1.Put the sugar into a bowl, pour boiling water over it to make a syrup.2.Skin and grate the pineapple and squeeze the juice into a bowl.3.Squeeze the lime juice and add it to the pineapple.4.Strain the pineapple and cold syrup into a glass jug and add enough cold water to make it up to 2 pints.5.Chill the drink in the refrigerator.6.Serve the drink with ice cubes and garnish with mint leaves.
Note:- Many other interesting and refreshing drinks can be made in the same way. Here are few suggestion sour sop drink, cucumber and lime drink and watermelon drink.
Nourishing Drinks:-
Milk is one of the most important foods for everyone, especially the very young, growing children, expectant mothers and old people. It contains proteins and mineral salts which are very necessary for growth. Milk is rich in a mineral salt called calcium which is necessary for building strong bones and teeth. Milk also contains vitamins, carbohydrates and fats which makes it a good for young and growing children.
There are many kinds of milk but the most commonly used is cow’s milk, although milk from other animals are also used, example goat’s milk and buffalo’s milk.
Cow’s milk can be bought as;-
1.Fresh milk.2.Condensed milk – some of the water from the milk has been evaporated, sugar has been added and the milk is then canned.3.Evaporated milk – some of the water from the milk has been evaporated before the milk is canned.4.Powdered milk – all the water from the milk has been evaporated, leaving only the solids in the form of powder.
Clean milk can only be obtained from clean, healthy cows, bred in clean, well kept surroundings and milked under very hygienic conditions. Milk is a complete food for babies but it is also very good breeding ground for germs. Germs grow and multiply very quickly in milk. Many of bacteria found in milk are harmless but they cause the milk to turn sour.
Sometimes milk carries germs which spread diseases. These disease germs can enter the milk from the body of the cow, from flies, dirty utensils, dirty hands and dust in the air. It is therefore very important that milk should always be kept very clean and covered at all times.
To keep milk:-
1.Scald all fresh milk to kill the germs. To scald milk, bring it quickly to the boil, boil for three minutes and then cool it quickly. Scalding will made the milk keep better.2.Keep scaled milk in clean containers, cover it with a clean piece of muslin and keep it in a cool place, either in a refrigerator or in an earthenware bowl of cold water.3.Never leave condensed milk in the opened tin. Always empty the contents into clean, dry containers and keep the milk covered to keep out dust and germs.4.Always empty and clean all milk containers before refilling them with fresh milk. Never add fresh milk to old milk.
To reconstitute milk:-
2 tablespoons milk powder
1 pint water
1.Measure the water into a mixing bowl.2.Sprinkle milk powder on the water.3.Whisk with a rotary whisk or a fork until the milk is free from lumps.
Vanilla Milk Shake Recipe
Ingredients:-1 glass very cold milk2 heaped teaspoons castor sugar4 drops vanilla essence
Method:-
1.Put all the ingredients into a mixer.2.Shake it up until the sugar dissolves and the milk is frothy.3.Serve it in a tall glass with a color straw.
Note: – Different milk shakes can be made by using different flavorings. A scoop of ice cream will improve the milk shake immensely.
Stimulating Drinks:-
Cocoa is not only a stimulating drink but is also a nourishing drink. It contains starch and fat and when made with milk and sugar it contains a lot of food value. Cocoa is made from cocoa beans, the seeds of cocoa pods which are the fruit of cocoa tree grown in many parts of tropical Africa, South America and the West Indies, Ceylon and Java. The cocoa beans are roasted and then ground. The cocoa fat called cocoa butter is then removed, after which the cocoa is further ground and sieved till a very fine powder is obtained. The presence of starch is cocoa makes it necessary to boil the drink if a thicker and smoother drink is desired.
Cocoa Recipe
Ingredients:-2 teaspoons cocoa1 pint milksugar
Method:-
1.Blend the cocoa with 2 to 3 tablespoonfuls of milk.2.Boil the rest of the milk in a rinsed milk saucepan.3.When the milk boils, pour it over the blended cocoa and stir it.4.Rinse the saucepan and return the cocoa to the pan to boil again.5.Boil the cocoa for 3 minutes, pour it into a warmed jug and serve it with sugar served separately.
Tea is made from the dried young shoots or leaves of the tea shrub which grows very well on the hillsides of India and Ceylon, Malaya, China and Japan.
There are two kinds of tea:-
1.Green tea or Chinese tea is made from unfermented leaves, which is drunk very weak and unsweetened.2.Ceylon tea is made from fermented leaves, which is usually served in the afternoon either with or without milk and sugar. The recipe given is for making this type of tea.
The best quality tea has only the shoots of the shrub which are well curled when dried and contain no stem or flowers or dust. Tea contains a stimulant, tannin which makes it bitter if it has been brewed for too long. It has practically no food value except for the food value from the milk and sugar which has been added to it.
Rules of making tea:-
1.Earthenware or chine teapots make the best tea.2.Use only freshly drawn water which has just reached boiling point.3.Heat the teapot thoroughly by scalding it with boiling water.4.Pour boiling water on to the tea in heated pot. If the water used is not at boiling point, the tea leaves will float in the tea.5.Serve tea as soon as it has infused long enough, or pour it into another heated teapot so that it will not over brew.
Tea Recipe
Ingredients:-1 teaspoon tea per person + 1 teaspoon tea for the potboiling water
Method:-
1.Fill the kettle with fresh water from the tap and put it to boil.2.Warm the teapot by pouring boiling water into it. Pour away the water.3.Measure tea into the heated pot.4.Take the teapot to the kettle and pour boiling water over the tea.5.Cover the pot and allow the tea to infuse for 4 to 5 minutes.6.Serve the tea on a tray with cold milk and sugar served separately.
Coffee is made from the roasted coffee beans which grow in many parts of South America, the West Indies, Africa, Java and the volcanic islands in the Pacific. The quality of the coffee depends on the roasting of the beans and their freshness. Ground coffee does not keep well as it losses its flavor and absorbs other flavors. It is best to buy freshly roasted and ground coffee in small quantities and keep it in airtight bottles. Coffee is more stimulating than tea, containing stimulant caffeine and like tea and it has no food value itself.
Rules for making coffee:-
1.Use the correct amount of freshly ground coffee.2.Use freshly drawn water which has just reached boiling point.3.Heat the jug thoroughly before using it for making coffee.4.Use boiling water for making coffee but never boil coffee.5.Strain coffee into a heated coffee pot as soon as it has infused long enough.6.Coffee must be served with milk. One third to half cup milk is added to coffee to get white coffee. It is best that the milk be hot. Cold milk will cool the coffee too much.
Coffee Recipe
Ingredients:-2 tablespoons coffee powder1 pint boiling water
Method:-
1.Heat a jug, put the coffee powder and pour boiling water over it.2.Stir the coffee, cover it tightly and let it infuse for 10 minutes in a warm place. The side of the stove will do.3.Heat a coffee pot.4.Stir the coffee again to settle the grounds and strain it into the heated coffee pot.5.Serve the coffee on a tray with hot milk and sugar served separately.
Note:- Coffee made in a percolator or by the local drip method is very good.