Sherbet Punch

A three-ingredient cold punch built on a block of pineapple ice rather than ice cubes, so it dilutes into flavor instead of water. The order of operations is the whole recipe: sweeten and mix the liquids first, add the ice, and open the seltzer last.

• Pineapple syrupMost likely the sweet packing syrup drained from canned pineapple, though a fountain or bar pineapple syrup is also possible. Canned pineapple juice, or the syrup from canned pineapple in heavy syrup, both work; if you use unsweetened juice you will want the full two tablespoons of sugar, possibly a little more.
• White grape juiceMeans unfermented bottled grape juice, a product closely associated with the temperance drinks trade. Modern bottled juice may well be sweeter than the period article, so taste before adding all the sugar.
• Dissolve the sugar firstTwo tablespoons of granulated sugar will not readily dissolve in cold juice sitting on ice. Stir it into the pineapple syrup at room temperature, or substitute simple syrup made with the same weight of sugar, before the water ice goes in.
• Pineapple water iceA water ice is a fruit sorbet with no dairy and no egg. A quart of shop-bought pineapple sorbet is the direct substitute; spoon it in as one or two large masses rather than scoops, since a compact block melts slowly and keeps the punch cold without thinning it.
• SeltzerPlain charged water, as from a siphon; not a flavored seltzer and not club soda with added mineral salts. A pint is two cups. Pour it down the side of the bowl at the last moment and stir once, if at all.
• YieldRoughly two quarts once the ice has partly melted, which is eight to ten punch-cup servings of about six ounces. It does not hold: the sorbet slumps and the carbonation fades quickly, so mix it as the guests arrive.
• Chill everythingRefrigerate the juices and the seltzer overnight and chill the bowl itself. Warm liquid hitting the water ice melts it immediately and you lose both the texture and the fizz.