Beverage Recipes Page 1

There are so many great drinks and beverages made in Dominican Republic. They use all the fresh fruits and other ingredients that are readily available. The cold drinks are perfect for refreshment during the hot Caribbean summers and the hot drinks are perfect when the Dominicans think it is cold outside at 70°F.

Jugo de Avena/Oatmeal Juice or Drink | Té Jengibre/Ginger Tea | Jugo Tamarindo/Tamarind Juice

Jugo de Avena / Oatmeal Juice or Drink

Jugo de Avena is easy to make and it is a hearty beverage served any time.

Recipe:
Soak 1 part oat flakes (If you want to make 4 servings start with 1 cup of oat flakes) in 2 parts of water for about an hour. It is best to use a finer cut of oats for this drink.

Blend for about a minute and strain out the lumps.

Take 4 parts evaporated milk (or regular milk if you want it to be less rich and have a lot fewer calories) and 2 parts ice to make the milk really cold.

Add 2 parts of juice with sugar added to taste. The more traditional juice to use is jugo de china/orange juice. You can also use lime juice, papaya, pineapple or a blend of juices. Try apple juice with a little cinnamon added.

Make sure to stir the milk/avena mixture when you add the juice to keep it from curdling. Adding the sugar to the juice helps guard against this happening.

It is like a liquid glass of oatmeal, a great way to get your fiber and enjoy it.

Té Jengibre / Ginger Tea

Té Jengibre is a traditional Christmas drink (more on Dominican Christmas foods). It is said to keep you warm on those cold, tropical Dominican nights (that is a joke). It is a staple for the winter months.

Boil about 5 cups of water and add 8 cinnamon sticks. Boil until the color of the water is a very light brown and it has a little cinnamon flavor, maybe about 5 minutes.

Add about 1/2 cup of peeled, thinly sliced ginger to the cinnamon water. Simmer together for about 5 more minutes adding water as some evaporates.

Strain and add sugar. You can add the sugar to the mix or add it to the cups separately.

The smell is wonderful. It is truly a warming drink. Served sweet, Dominican style it is heavenly.

Some of the virtues of ginger:
Ginger is said to keep away colds because of its warming effect.

It is also good for calming the stomach (how many times did your mother give you ginger ale when you had an upset stomach?). It aids in digestion by getting rid of gasses and breaks down fatty foods.

It is said to enhance circulation and be very stimulating.

People say it is an Aphrodisiac probably because of it’s warming qualities.

Ginger is served with Sushi because it is said to kill parasites in raw fish.

Jugo Tamarindo

Jugo Tamarindo / Tamarind Juice is sweet yet sour beverage. It is high in acid, sugar, B vitamins, calcium and in fiber (used as a natural laxative).

Recipe – Use the very ripe tamarind to make juice.
Remove the pulp from ripened pods or buy in bags with the shell already removed. Remove the seeds. It is easiest to just get your hands into the mix and squish it around to get the seeds loose.

I usually mix 1 part tamarind to 5 parts of water and 1/2 part sugar depending on how sweet you like it (that would be 1 cup pulp, 5 cups water and 1/2 cup sugar).

Put it all in a blender and mix it up good.

Strain the pulp, pour in your glass, add some ice and enjoy.

More about tamarindo in the Grown in Dominican Republic pages.