Is it just me or do all of you, upon seeing a pitcher of sangria, open your arms wide and find yourself saying, "Come to mama." Personally, I can't help it: I am a sucker for anything that contains wine, including sangria. In fact, I wait for the days when sangria is mixed with H20 molecules and made to flow easily from the kitchen faucet. How bout it science? Get on that for me.
You might not be as zealous about sangria as I am, but chances are you've at least heard of it. If you haven't heard of it, keep reading: you might learn something. If you have heard of it, keep reading: use this article as an aperitif for your sangria meal.
The Sands of Sangria: Planting its roots in Portugal and Spain, sangria has made itself popular in many countries. Derived from the Spanish word sangre, meaning blood - yum, blood - sangria became popular in the US in 1964 when it was introduced at the World's Fair in New York. A punch-like drink, consumers found themselves enjoying it during hot summer days.
What the Container Contains: There are about a million and one ways to make sangria (seriously, I've counted them), but it usually involves a combination of red wine (Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.), fruit, sweetener (honey, for example), water, lemonade or a citrus flavored soft drink, and a small amount of brandy or triple sec. Though red wine typically beats white to - forgive me - the punch, white wine is sometimes used as a replacement. When this happens, sangria turns into sangria Blanca.
Recipe for Improv: As stated before, sangria can be made a variety of ways: it is the freestyle dance of the alcohol world. However, it is typically prepared by cutting the fruit into cubes or slices and mixing all of the ingredients together with the exception of ice and carbonated soda. The sangria is then placed in the refrigerator for several hours: the longer it is allowed to chill out, the better all of the ingredients will mix with each other. Once it's removed from the refrigerator, the ice and carbonated soda are reunited with the other ingredients and the drinks are served.
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