Kool-Aid Confessions...

...and I'm a Kool-Aid addict.

I believe my addiction began in the late 50's. I shall blame it upon my Parents. I feel that is only fair, since at the time, I was certainly too young to make any valid, valued or otherwise important decisions regarding my life. My Mom never seemed to have even a hint of shame in her voice when she so proudly would tell one of her many stories of my childhood... specifically the ones of bottle-feeding me Kool-Aid. Apparently Grape was my favored flavor, and even to this day it remains in the Top-3 of my favorites.

Now, for those of you who ~gasped in horror~ at my confession of having been bottle-fed one of America's most popular beverage, I must say this in defense of my precious Mom. Pardon me? Oh, you didn't know I could hear you gasping? I did. I also saw you shaking your head in disbelief. It's ok, really... I truly do understand. I did the same thing, actually, the first time I learned of this. But, I digress. Mom was only giving me "a taste" because she thought I shouldn't be left out of such a refreshing drink as my Sister and Brother were sipping their Kool-Aid through paper straws one blistering Summer afternoon. She assured me, over the years, that it was only "a taste" each time the treasured Kool-Aid-filled "small" bottle neared my lips. Such a good soul she was. God bless her heart, she was a wonderful "Kool-Aid Mom"!

Not only am I a confessed addict, I am also a "Kool-Aid Mom". I have a Kool-Aid Tin in the kitchen with pictures of Vintage Advertising on it. Yes, it holds those magical packages! Fortunately, for my Husband, I haven't been compelled to collect Kool-Aid items. However, I would not turn my back on a smiley-face pitcher and matching mugs. I admit to looking at them, many times, on eBay. But to this date, I still have not
purchased a set.

I decided it was time to do some research into this fascinating powdered beverage mix. Kool-Aid was "invented" in 1927 in Hastings, Nebraska by a gentleman named Edwin Perkins. God bless his heart, too, please. He had created a liquid drink that he called Fruit Smack. Difficulties were abundant in his attempts at marketing this drink since the glass bottles often broke in transit and the cost of shipping was high. His motivation to solve this problem led him to figure out how to remove the water, leaving those powdered granules. There were six original flavors; Strawberry, Cherry, Lemon-Lime, Grape, Orange and Raspberry. Now, 81 years later, Kraft Foods owns Kool-Aid, with over 70 flavors being sold in the USA. Worldwide, each year, over 500 million gallons of Kool-Aid are consumed by children, adults, addicts, and I strongly suspect by babies, as well. Oh My!!

As I'm certain many of you know, there are quite a few ways to enjoy Kool-Aid, other than just a tall ice cold glass of it. Remember pouring your favorite flavor into paper cups and sticking them into Mom's freezer... then just before they are totally frozen, sticking popcicle sticks into the cups and waiting til the next day to tear into them?!

One beautiful option is this 1963 drink, called

Tutti-Frutti-Ice-Sparkle

1 1 oz. pkg. ea. Orange, Lemon-Lime, Cherry Kool-Aid

Sugar ~ Water

Chilled 7-Up or your favorite lemon-lime soda

~~~~~~

Mix up each Kool-aid per package instructions.

Pour into ice cube trays.

Once frozen, mix-up the ice cubes into

clear glasses and a large clear glass pitcher.

Fill glasses and pitcher with chilled 7-Up.
A nice variation is to make an extra pitcher of Lemon-Lime and mix equal parts of it with your chilled soda before pouring over ice.
Kool-Aid is also used for flavoring and coloring cakes and frostings. Here is a peek inside of this Cook-booklette from 1976.

You can also use it for temporary hair coloring and many people dye yarns and fabrics with Kool-Aid. A Google search will lead you down the Kool-Aid path of your choice! Having done that myself, I came upon a rather unique and stomach-churning way that alot of folks are apparently enjoying doing with their Kool-Aid. I can't say that I've seen or heard of this before... and I most certainly did not try this before writing this post.
And... nope, no way am I going to try it, either.

That is my final answer on it...

so, with that being said... I present to you...

~cringing at the mere thought of chomping down on one of those~ I debated including the "recipe" for these "Koockles" and decided if someone wanted to try them bad enough, they could Google it themselves. Sorry to be so "anti-Koockle".

Well my friends, it's time for me to take a lil break here and lounge back in my bed with a tall ice cold glass of Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid. I'll be sure to raise my glass in thanks to Mr. Perkins as well as to my sweet angel Mom! Can't think of a more fun addiction to have!

~cheers~ and God bless...

Until another time... Pearl