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Cherry Punch
2 qts. white cherries 2 C sugar 1 C grated pineapple 1 C strong green tea 2 C water 6 oranges 12 t almond extract 1 qt. carbonated water Cover cherries with water. Cook until they are reduced to pulp, strain and add sugar and cook three minutes. Cool. Add juice of oranges and pineapple, put in icebox to cool-then add remainder of ingredients. Mrs. B. H. Whitman.
Juice 2 doz. oranges Juice 1½ doz. lemons 2 cans grated pineapple 4 lb. sugar.
Serves twenty-five.
Two punch recipes have been run together in this entry: Mrs. Whitman's cherry punch, and an unattributed orange-lemon-pineapple punch base beneath it. Read them as separate formulas.
- The fraction bars are missingThe fraction bars appear to have dropped out. "12 t almond extract" is most likely 1/2 teaspoon, and "Juice 12 doz. lemons" in the second recipe most likely 1/2 dozen — six lemons alongside two dozen oranges. Twelve teaspoons of almond extract in a gallon of punch would be overwhelming and bitter.
- White cherriesWhite cherries are the pale yellow-blush sweet cherries — Royal Ann and, in modern markets, the later-bred Rainier. They give body and an almond-scented flavor without staining the punch pink. Two quarts is roughly 3 lb. Dark sweet cherries work but produce a very different-looking drink.
- Strong green teaTea here supplies tannin and astringency more than flavor. Brew one cup at double strength and let it cool completely before it goes in.
- Grated pineappleIn 1900s American cookbooks this means canned crushed pineapple in juice, or fresh pineapple grated on a box grater, pulp and all. A can of crushed pineapple, undrained, is the direct substitute.
- Carbonated waterAdd it at the last possible moment, straight from a cold bottle, and stir once. Chilling everything else first helps preserve the fizz.
- IceboxAn icebox ran warmer and less steadily than a modern refrigerator — figures around 50F are commonly cited. Nothing is lost by chilling harder; the punch is better very cold, and cold mutes the almond extract, so taste after chilling before adding more.
- YieldMrs. Whitman gives none. The cherry punch comes to roughly 3 quarts, or about a dozen cups. The second formula is marked as serving twenty-five and would need water or carbonated water to stretch that far — as written it is a concentrate.
Community cookbooks of the early twentieth century often carry a punch section. The structure is remarkably consistent — a cooked sugar syrup, citrus juice, canned pineapple, a cup of strong tea for astringency, and bottled carbonated water stirred in at the table. Canned crushed pineapple and reliable commercial bottled soda water were both recent conveniences. The pairing of cherries with almond extract is not decorative: cherry kernels and bitter almonds share the same aromatic compound, so the extract reinforces a flavor the fruit already suggests.