Utepils: Drinking Cold Beer Outside with Friends on a Hot Day - Norwegian
The Nordic culture of socializing over a drink and an easy lemonade recipe
As the hot summer days continue to heat up the Northern Hemisphere in cooperation with the sun, there is a very northern word on our agenda today that cools people down and makes them happy with the healing power of socializing.
Utepils.
Utepils is etymologically a combination of the roots ute (outdoors) and pils (beer). And just like the meaning of the two roots when they come together, utepils in Norwegian means a cold beer drunk outside on a hot day.
However, Utepils is not only about the cold beer you drink by yourself in the garden. There is also a lot of socializing involved.
Indeed, if you've ever been to one of the Nordic countries in the summer, you've witnessed the streets full of people, especially young people, chatting over cold beers in cafes. There is no trace of the deserted street scenes seen in the winter. Although people in the Nordic countries have found great ways to live outside in the winter, summer is still different.
Speaking of the Nordic countries, I think we can say that drinking and socializing together are very important for them. Fika, which means coffee breaks where we socialize in Swedish, can be given as an example. Social gatherings are so important that they have even developed special words for them in their language. Socializing over coffee = Fika; socializing with a cold beer outside on a hot day = Utepils. I think it is almost certain that we will see other words in the future. The importance of food and drink in our lives is so great in many cultures, but especially in Nordic societies, it seems to be very much embedded in the language.
Anyone who wants to live in the Nordic countries should apparently get used to attending social gatherings with a drink. It does not appear to be a difficult situation to adapt to. This information also shows that people in northern societies are not cold characters at all. They are quite social, only their manner is distinctive.
Easy and Super Delicious Summer Lemonade
Speaking of summer and cold drinks, the drinks we consume while socializing don't have to be alcoholic. Then I thought I should share a lemonade recipe I have been using for some time.
Ingredients:
5 lemons
5 lemons’ lemon zest
10 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 liter of water
Ingredients you want to add such as mint, basil (if available)
Recipe:
Before peeling the lemons, grate the zest so that the white parts do not come off. Our aim is to get the yellow, fragrant and flavored parts of the lemon peel. The white parts of the peel will not work for us because they will give bitterness.
Once the grating is done, put the zest in the blender and peel the lemons. Remove as much of the white part as possible and get the juicy parts.
Cut the peeled lemons into quarters, remove the seeds and put them in the blender.
Then, add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for each lemon, i.e. 10 tablespoons for 5 lemons. If you want to add mint or basil, add them and after putting the water, blend the whole mixture. Blend until you get a smooth consistency.
Taste the mixture and add sugar or water if necessary.
I use this mixture as a lemonade extract and keep in the refrigerator. When I want to drink lemonade, I add some cold water and ice before serving according to my taste. After the first time, you can set up a system (maybe new ingredients and measures) according to your taste or usage habits.
After I was able to make lemonade in a blender, it was much easier to have access to one of my favorite drinks and the hot summer days became much cooler.
Anyway, if Norwegians want to drink beer, they can drink beer, but if the goal is to socialize and cool down, it is quite possible to do so with a non-alcoholic drink.
Notes & Reads:
Enjoy 8 Classic Summer Drinks, With a Twist, and Summer Drinking at Its Simplest from The New York Times are great sources to learn some recipes for making cool summer drinks. Both for socializing and for enjoyable solo moments, cold drinks are irreplaceable. You’ve got lemonade as a non-alcoholic drink, but if you need alcoholic ones, those are showing the way.
Have a wonderful week and weekend.
Till next week,
— Gulsun
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A happy childhood memory was triggered by your recipe. We once had an enormous lemon tree in our garden; abound with tiny lemons. Everything edible was made with those lemons, but my favorite was the lemonade. Let me share with you my mother's version. You can try it if you wish: Lemon juice, a pinch of salt, juice of fresh ginger(or crushed ginger) for the spicy aftertaste, jaggery as the sweetener, and cold water.
Note: Jaggery takes longer to dissolve unlike sugar, so stirring continuously doubles as an arm workout.
Cheers :) Happy Weekend!