26th March 2014

Nerd Recipes: Divergent’s Erudite Fizzy Drinks

Welcome to the latest installment of our Divergent recipes series. If you haven’t seen the first movie (which just came out last weekend!) or read the books, then mild spoilers ahead.

erudite

In the Divergent series, future Chicago has divided the population into five factions, each with the emphasis on a personality trait: caring, honesty, intelligence, courage and kindness.

In the first book, during the “Choosing Ceremony” the main character Beatrice decides to defect from the faction she was raised in, selfless Abnegation, to join the brave Dauntless. Her brother, only slightly older and therefore choosing during the same ceremony, also defects, leaving to join the intelligent Erudite.

Eventually, the Erudite become the main antagonists of the first story, putting the Prior siblings at odds with one another.

It’s only later in the second book, when they’re reunited and are discussing the factions that they each defected to.

“We had good cake,” I tell Caleb.
“We had fizzy drinks,” he says.

Later, in the third book, Tris and Tobias sample the fizzy drink, having nicked a bottle from the Erudite kitchens. Whatever it is, it’s sweet as syrup and lemon-flavored and is for serious sweet tooths. My tip: the second sip is less intense. So raise a glass, here’s your sweet as syrup and slightly lemon-flavored fizzy drink.

ERUDITE FIZZY DRINKS (serves 6-8)
Note: The great thing about this recipe is that it’s incredibly flexible. The flavors below turned out delicious, but you could swap out any citrus + any lightly carbonated beverage + any berry + a complementary herb.

You Need:

1 two-liter bottle of Fresca
2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries, halved
2 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced
12-15 mint leaves

Let’s make these Fizzy Drinks:

1-erudite

1. Add the mint and lemons to the bottom of a large pitcher. Use a wooden spoon or fork to muddle slightly, releasing the oils from the mint leaves.

2. Mix in the strawberries and a handful of ice cubes.

2-erudite

3. Top with the soda.

4. Serve right away or keep very cold until party time.

Other flavors that could be equally tasty:
Sprite + strawberries + basil
Fresca + raspberries + orange slices + rosemary
Gingerale + blackberries + lemons + mint

Recipe by Emma Carew Grovum. She is the web and social media editor for Foreign Policy magazine and uses her newsroom colleagues as taste testers. Emma has previously worked for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Webbmedia Group, The Cooking Club of America and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She loves Star Wars, pandas and all things Joss Whedon. Find her on twitter at @emmacarew.

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26th March 2014

Nerd Recipes: Divergent’s Erudite Fizzy Drinks

The End