Fenway Park (Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox)
My nephew is in love with his Little League team and has started to watch grownup baseball on TV. For a non-sports fan like me this is trying: I’m only just now recovering from being subjected to hockey and basketball games!
I can always cook, however.
In honor of baseball season, then, my next few recipes will be for foods that are popular at ballparks—particularly at my state’s own Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.
I called the publicity folks at Fenway, who were nice enough to provide me with a little information about their current menu.
Not surprisingly, the most popular food item sold at the ballpark is the hot dog. On Opening Day alone this year the concessionaires estimated that they sold more than 23,000 Fenway Franks.
Other popular items include pizza, hamburgers, nachos, soft pretzels, and funnel cakes.
In keeping with trends across the country, Fenway has begun to feature more healthy foods on its menu—vegetarian sandwiches and salads, yogurt, hummus with crackers, and fresh fruit.
I asked Fenway’s historian, Dick Bresciani, whether he had any information about what was served during the park’s first season in 1912. In that year the Red Sox beat the New York Giants to win the tenth World Series.
Courtesy of the Boston Public Library Print Department
Unfortunately, Dick had no documentation about food from that year. He did share with me the earliest material he could find, from the official 1927 Fenway program.
In it Fenway advertised Neapolitan Ice Cream, “sold exclusively within Fenway Park.” “Always fresh and wholesome,” read the advertisement. “Order from the boy.”
Other treats included Oh Henry Bars (ten cents), White Rock Mineral Water and Ginger Ale, and Wrigley’s Double Mint Chewing Gum. “The real peppermint flavor is deliciously cooling to parched throats!” the program boasted.
I almost made Neapolitan ice cream but decided that the challenge of lining up separate ice-cream makers for the three flavors was beyond me.
Instead, I’m helping readers make a refreshing glass of freshly squeezed lemonade—the perfect drink throughout baseball season.
I promise you’ll hit a home run with it!
This recipe is quite flexible. Taste the lemonade before you serve it and see what suits you best.
Some of my family members like it with more lemon; some (Michael!), with a little more sugar syrup. You may also make it a little stronger or a little weaker.
I like it just the way it is here.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, more or less to taste
3 tablespoons simple syrup (equal parts of water and sugar, brought to a boil and heated until the sugar dissolves), more or less to taste
water as needed
mint for garnish (optional)
3 tablespoons simple syrup (equal parts of water and sugar, brought to a boil and heated until the sugar dissolves), more or less to taste
water as needed
mint for garnish (optional)
Instructions:
Place ice in a 12-ounce glass. Add the lemon juice, sugar, and water, and stir gently to blend. Taste and adjust flavors. Garnish with mint if desired.
Makes 1 glass.
Psyche, the White Rock Logo, in the 1920s
If you enjoyed this post, please consider taking out an email subscription to my blog. Just click on the link below!
