Recipes & Cooking Desserts & Baking Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts How to Make Red Drink Water Ice, a Frozen Dessert Made with Strawberries Be the first to rate & review! An icy Philadelphia treat, water ice, satisfies the red drink tradition knitted into Juneteenth. By Omar Tate, Omar Tate Omar Tate is a Philadelphia-rooted poet, farmer, and multimedia artist that views food as one of his many mediums. He is co-founder of Honeysuckle Provisions, an Afrocentric grocery and cafe in West Philadelphia andHoneysuckle Projects, a network of community spaces centered around the values of ancestry, nourishment, and reclamation. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Cybille St.Aude-Tate, Cybille St.Aude-Tate Cybille St.Aude-Tate is a Philadelphia-based Haitian-American chef, children’s book author, and social entrepreneur. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Jan Miller Jan Miller Jan Miller is the Executive Editor of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. She has over 25 years of experience helping readers answer the question, "What's for dinner?", has taught home bakers a thing or two, and has inspired home cooks to experiment in the kitchen. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on June 7, 2024 Recipe tested by Lynn Blanchard Recipe tested by Lynn Blanchard Lynn Blanchard is the Director of the Des Moines, Iowa-based Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen. As Test Kitchen Director, she ensures that all recipes that appear in Dotdash Meredith publications are thoroughly tested by staff culinary specialists in conditions that replicate home kitchens. Learn more about the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Carson Downing Prep Time: 20 mins Total Time: 4 hrs 50 mins Servings: 14 Yield: Makes about 7 cups Jump to Nutrition Facts You can guarantee a red drink will be on the table at nearly every Juneteenth celebration this summer. The color red symbolizes blood shed by the enslaved and also speaks to the color as a symbol of strength and spiritual significance that predates the slave trade. Historians have traced the tradition of red drink to West Africa where red teas were made from hibiscus. In areas where hibiscus was not easily grown, berries became the flavoring and means to color the beverage. As the tradition evolved over the years red drink came from more convenient sources including Big Red Soda or Kool Aid. What Is Water Ice? A signature icy treat of Philadelphia, water ice is a frozen dessert made from a combination of sugar, water, and various fruits. It's often referred to as Italian ice and has a consistency that falls somewhere between a snow cone and and a sippable slushy. Water ice is spoonable and will mound when served in a dish. This Red Drink Water Ice gets its red color from fresh strawberries and a strawberry syrup that is frozen then blended. Ingredients 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/3 cup corn syrup 4 oz strawberries, stems removed and cut in half (1 cup) 2 lb strawberries, stems removed (about 8 cups) 1/2 tsp citric acid 2 cups ice cubes Directions Kelsey Hansen For syrup, in a medium saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, 3/4 cup water, and the 4 oz. strawberries. Kelsey Hansen Bring to boiling over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Let cool 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard solids. Chill syrup before using. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Kelsey Hansen For strawberry puree, in the bowl of a large food processor combine the 2 lb. strawberries and the citric acid. Cover; process until smooth. (You should have about 4 cups.) Transfer to an 8-cup freezer container. Cover; freeze until firm, 3 hours to overnight. You want the puree to be firm enough to hold its shape when broken into chunks with a fork. If frozen overnight, let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes to soften slightly. Using a fork, break frozen puree into 1-inch chunks. Test Kitchen Tip: Citric acid is a preservative used to make jam. You can substitute 1 Tbsp. lemon juice for the citric acid in this recipe. Kelsey Hansen In the bowl of a large food processor combine chunks of frozen puree, strawberry syrup, and the ice. Cover and process until the mixture has an even, icy texture, 3 to 5 minutes. Return to freezer container. Cover; freeze 1 to 2 hours before serving to allow mixture to "reset." For serving, the texture should be like a fine, relatively soft slush. Water ice can be reblended up to three times. Rate It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 115 Calories 0g Fat 30g Carbs 0g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 14 Calories 115.2 % Daily Value * Total Fat 0.2g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 7.2mg 0% Total Carbohydrate 29.6g 11% Dietary Fiber 1.5g 5% Total Sugars 27.6g Protein 0.5g 1% Vitamin D 0mcg 0% Vitamin C 42.9mg 48% Calcium 13.9mg 1% Iron 0.3mg 2% Potassium 112mg 2% Fatty acids, total trans 0g Vitamin D 0IU Alanine 0g Arginine 0g Ash 0.3g Aspartic acid 0.1g Caffeine 0mg Carotene, alpha 0mcg Choline, total 4.2mg Copper, Cu 0mg Cystine 0g Energy 483.1kJ Fluoride, F 26.4mcg Folate, total 17.5mcg Glutamic acid 0.1g Glycine 0g Histidine 0g Isoleucine 0g Leucine 0g Lysine 0g Methionine 0g Magnesium, Mg 9.9mg Manganese, Mn 0.3mg Niacin 0.3mg Phosphorus, P 17.5mg Pantothenic acid 0.1mg Phenylalanine 0g Phytosterols 8.7mg Proline 0g Retinol 0mcg Selenium, Se 0.5mcg Serine 0g Starch 0g Theobromine 0mg Threonine 0g Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.2mg Tryptophan 0g Tyrosine 0g Valine 0g Vitamin A, IU 8.8IU Vitamin A, RAE 0.7mcg Vitamin B-12 0mcg Vitamin B-6 0mg Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 1.6mcg Water 100.7g Zinc, Zn 0.1mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.