Fresh Peach Iced Tea

Steps

1. Put the sliced peaches, sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a

   simmer (how to simmer)

   Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid

   over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Simmer, mashing the peaches with a spoon now and then, until they are very soft and the liquid is syrupy.
   ⏱ Simmer syrup: 10 min
3. Take the syrup off the heat and let it cool.
   ⏱ Cool syrup: 15 min
4. While the syrup cools, bring 4 cups of water to a

   boil (how to boil)

   Boil Heat liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. 1. Use a pot big enough that the water fills it no more than three quarters.2. Cover it to boil faster, over high heat.3. Salt pasta or vegetable water once it boils.4. Add the food, stir, and bring it back to a boil before you start timing. Done when: A rolling boil keeps bubbling hard even when you stir. Safety: Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, and drain pasta into a colander in the sink, pouring away from you. Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to boil water for pasta and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

   in a second saucepan or kettle.
5. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags and steep.
   ⏱ Steep: 5 min
6. Lift out the tea bags without squeezing them.
7. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher and pour the peach syrup through it, pressing on the fruit with a spatula. Discard the pulp.
8. Pour the tea and the 2 cups of cold water into the pitcher and stir.
9. Refrigerate until cold.
   ⏱ Chill: 2 hr
10. Serve over ice with fresh peach slices and a sprig of mint.

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Tips

• Frozen peach slices work when fresh peaches are out of season.
• Taste before chilling. Add a little more syrup or water to get it how you like it.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Make ahead

The peach syrup keeps in a jar in the fridge up to 1 week.

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage. In season: peaches (June to September).