What do Mormons drink after dinner?

[lizrenowden]

A nice non-alcoholic wine - there is a type in the UK (I don't know if it is anywhere else) called schloer, which is gorgeous - slightly sparkling too

[Guest Godless]

Is it wrong that I usually give tap water to the missionaries when they come over? Though fwiw, I usually have a few cans of Vernors Ginger Ale in my fridge as well. I guess they're too polite to accept it.

[RipplecutBuddha]

for after dinner I'm good with chocolate milk or egg nog, depending on the season...or just a can of coca-cola

[Bini]

Mostly an aqua drinker but on occasion I'll have hot chocolate. Serving a hot beverage after meals is not something my husband and I do a whole lot but when we go out to a nice restaurant we'll order something to sip on while we chat. His family is Dutch so they drink a lot of coffee, tea, etc etc before, during and after their meals. I know that doesn't help much from an LDS perspective.

[Guest tbaird22]

Hot chocolate when its cold lemonade or soda when its hot

[Wingnut]

Typically I have found most Mormons love hot chocolate.

I have teacups as part of my fine china, and I've served hot chocolate in them a few times. People seem to think it's a great little novelty.

My own personal taste runs more to herbal teas (be sure to say they are herbal because some Mormons can get uptight if you don't clarify the herbal part).

Better yet, call it an herbal infusion, since that's what it is, and it raises even fewer eyebrows.

* A very dark hot chocolate with some gourmet chili powders and cinnamon would be quite interesting and more refined then serving something like Swiss Miss.

Yummmmmmm...

Ooh that reminds me.

Dahlia, serve me a nice sharp non-alcoholic ginger beer after dinner and I'll be your friend for life.

Yet another way in which you and my husband are alike.

I swallow my own spit.

Lovely.

[prisonchaplain]

I'm not even LDS, but I believe I have the official answer. When I visited the temple opening in Langely, BC, they offered us cookies & lime-flavored water. It was not sweet, so went acceptably well.

[Dravin]

Yummmmmmm...

The idea is pretty much based on the Spicy Maya chocolate bar made by Chuao Chocolatier, they also make a hot chocolate based on their bar. Though it would certainly be cheaper to make your own rather than buy their hot chocolate.

[dahlia]

Do you mean a good diet cream soda? Because A&W, Shasta and multiple smaller outfits make diet cream soda. Regatta and Barritts make diet ginger beer (not to mention the various ginger ales out there such as Vernor's, Schwepps, and Canada Dry)

I knew I lived in the middle of nowhere, but this proves it. First, I think I have to go to the hippie store to get a cream soda. I know I haven't seen them in the regular grocery. I'm from the east coast and am used to seeing cream soda all over the place. Certainly I have not seen a diet version.

And Vernors (yuck), isn't that only in Michigan? I went to UM and my friends tried to sell me on Vernors. What a foul beverage! Ginger ale might be a good choice. I don't drink it much, but it's different and not too sweet. Of course, I could give them Vernors and the next time they'd bring their own drinks.

[Dravin]

Vernor's is certainly different than something like Schwepps or Canada Dry, and if you are expecting the latter when you first taste the former it could be a bit of a shock. That said I've never had a diet Vernor's, and not all diet beverages are done equally well (and honestly I'm not that interested in trying it, Ginger beverages are a 'treat' for me, if I can't spare the calories I go Diet Dr. Pepper).

Have you considered making your own syrup? In this case you'd just need a bunch of ground/shredded ginger which you boil and reduce to extract the flavor, for sweetness you can use a heat stable non-nutritive sweeter. Also in that vein, buying some diet flavoring syrups (such as Torani) and using seltzer water would allow you to make a flavored but much lighter tasting drink than you'd get out of a can. In my case my experiments into making my own ginger ale/beer syrup was to try to stuff as much ginger into it as I could. Plus if you make or buy syrups you can make 'Italian Sodas' for dessert*

*Soda water, cream, and syrup. Delicious but not exactly light on calories. I'm not sure how well a ginger Italian soda would go over but hazelnut is a classic, and using vanilla gives you a literal cream soda.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Dravin

[Dravin]

Is it wrong that I usually give tap water to the missionaries when they come over? Though fwiw, I usually have a few cans of Vernors Ginger Ale in my fridge as well. I guess they're too polite to accept it.

This would be happening in Texas right? I know when I'm hot or thirsty rather than drinking for recreation I prefer some nice ice water to a soda. Actually I probably would have died in Texas, as it was in the Spokane Mission I went through prodigious amounts of cold water during the summer months and particularly when I wasn't using a car to get around.

At one point my water intake was something like:

1 Quart in the morning.

3 L Camelback while walking/biking around in the morning.

1 Quart back at the apartment.

3 L Camelback while out walking/biking around in the afternoon.

1 Quart of water at dinner (when eating dinner at the apartment, diner with members was more variable but I tended to drink as much as I felt I could politely do).

1 Quart back at the apartment.

So it was a perfectly acceptable beverage to be served. :) Actually once we stopped to talk to a guy in his driveway and I guess he noticed me sweating like a pig and the fact that I had a Camelback, he offered to top it off for me. When he brought back the bladder I notice he had included prodigious amounts of ice. I would have taken a bullet for that man at that moment.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Dravin

[pam]

You like that word prodigious don't you Dravin? You used it twice in your post. :)

[Dravin]

You like that word prodigious don't you Dravin? You used it twice in your post. :)

Yes, I used it twice. I'm afraid you guys don't get the attention to detail editing my papers receive.

[Suzie]

I LOVE Caro!

[Guest Godless]

And Vernors (yuck), isn't that only in Michigan? I went to UM and my friends tried to sell me on Vernors. What a foul beverage! Ginger ale might be a good choice. I don't drink it much, but it's different and not too sweet. Of course, I could give them Vernors and the next time they'd bring their own drinks.

Ironically, Vernor's is the only ginger ale I've tried that actually has a decent (okay, maybe that's being modest) level of ginger flavor to it. Schwepps and Canada Dry are just too bland for me.

And no, it's not just in Michigan. I'm not sure how widespread their distribution is, but I've seen it on shelves in both Texas and Maryland.

[Guest Godless]

This would be happening in Texas right? I know when I'm hot or thirsty rather than drinking for recreation I prefer some nice ice water to a soda. Actually I probably would have died in Texas, as it was in the Spokane Mission I went through prodigious amounts of cold water during the summer months and particularly when I wasn't using a car to get around.

I'm actually partial to Gatorade, probably because the Army gives it to us by the case for free (the same was true in '04).

[Maureen]

Mind asking your husband how he might describe a taste difference, if it exists, between the two? I can understand if you mind, I'm essentially asking you to pester your husband on behalf of some random internet creepy person.

OK, so I did ask my husband and he says the difference is, ginger wine is not as carbonated, it is sharper and more intense in taste.

The other family members that have replied have not even tried ginger wine but my one nephew says "I believe it is supposed to be more potent, less fizzy."

M. :)

[Dravin]

I'm actually partial to Gatorade, probably because the Army gives it to us by the case for free (the same was true in '04).

I imagine the top end of exertion for military types (in the field at least) is higher than that of missionaries. I know I never worried about electrolytes and I stay clear of sugared beverages unless it is a special treat (I do like the G2 Gatorade though). That amount of calories if you had swapped out my water for Gatorade would have been considerable.

[Dravin]

OK, so I did ask my husband and he says the difference is, ginger wine is not as carbonated, it is sharper and more intense in taste.

The other family members that have replied have not even tried ginger wine but my one nephew says "I believe it is supposed to be more potent, less fizzy."

M. :)

I'll have to consider that at some point, thank you. My Reed Extra Ginger Brew is lower on the fizz content and I like it. My home made stuff was as well (adding syrup to a bottle of soda water tends to loose you a decent amount of fizz).

[pam]

I'm actually partial to Gatorade, probably because the Army gives it to us by the case for free (the same was true in '04).

The same was true when my son went through basic.

[Blackmarch]

This is kind of along the lines of 'what do Mormons do when they're sad.' (I don't know why drinking would be the answer to that, but anyway...)

I'm used to serving coffee, tea or a sherry cordial (old lady, but nice). Now that I'm entertaining more, I'd like to continue to serve something after dinner, but don't know what LDS do after a formal meal. This would be for grown ups - the missionaries who are a constant fixture at my place are nice, but could care less what I served with their cake.

I guess the same question goes for having people over for dessert - what do you serve with it? As a diabetic, I'm kind of restricted on what I drink and I don't think of juices, besides, juice and a really nice dessert just seems a little déclassé. I don't do dairy and would have to specially purchase milk - and then you get into the skim, 2%, whole issue with folks.

So, any suggestions for adult drinks?

Orange Juice, or if yuou reaallly want to be fancy make up some orange julius (this is great for the main course, or for dessert). Can't think of any diabetic friendly drinks tho.. maybe iced water with a lemon or a lime.