sweet tea
Black tea brewed strong, sweetened with sugar while still hot so it fully dissolves, then chilled over ice; a Southern US staple drink. Used in cooking, it functions as a concentrated source of tannin, sweetness, and flavor rather than as a drink, so the ratio of tea to sugar in a dish may differ substantially from how it's brewed for drinking.
Buying guidance
If buying it ready-made rather than brewing at home, check the label for sugar content -- bottled versions range from lightly sweetened to syrupy, which matters if it's going into a dish rather than a glass.
Substitutions
- Unsweetened brewed black tea plus sugar added to taste -- easiest to control precisely, especially when the final sweetness needs adjusting for a specific use.
- Unsweetened iced tea with sugar stirred in separately at the end -- keeps the sweetness level adjustable rather than locked in during brewing.
Tips & common mistakes
Its sweetness level is fixed by how much sugar went in when it was brewed, so a homemade batch and a bottled one can differ enormously in how much sugar they contribute -- taste it directly rather than assuming a standard sweetness, and hold back on any other added sugar until you've checked.
Storage
Once brewed and sweetened, refrigerate it and use it within a few days -- the sugar can encourage a cloudy film or mold at the surface faster than unsweetened tea left the same way. It doesn't freeze well as a drink, though it works fine frozen into ice cubes.