My Christmas Slush recipe is everywhere – even at Walmart!
You can’t copyright a recipe, folks
About five days before Christmas last year, I received the text. “This is your recipe,” my sister wrote, and attached a picture of a well-decorated “Newfie Slush” bucket, with my recipe printed on the side. It turns out that some lovely person decided to copy and paste my recipe for Christmas Slush verbatim, put it on a bucket, and sell it.
A few years ago, I wrote an article for Chatelaine about the Christmas slush phenomenon here in Newfoundland and Labrador (read it here), along with a recipe that was shared widely. I still refer to it when people ask for my Slush recipe, which I make every year for the Tibbs’ Eve party Adam and I host.
My sister was outraged, asked me what I was going to do, and sadly, the answer was nothing. I explained to her that in Canada, you cannot copyright a recipe as the ingredients and the directions are considered “facts or procedures,” which are not protected under the Copyright Act.
“You should get royalties,” she continued. Not gonna happen. But that’s okay. I can’t besmirch the person who made the buckets to sell – everyone has to make a living – but a tweak to the directions (which are written with my personal flair) could have made this sting a little less. This year, you’ll find the bucket for sale online, at Pipers and even at Walmart!
I’m happy my delicious Slush recipe is being shared far and wide, and while I’m glad to direct those who ask to the Chatelaine website, I figured I was doing my loyal newsletter readers a disservice by not providing the recipe here!
After all, you can’t copyright a recipe, folks.
Here is my slightly edited recipe for Christmas Slush recipe. It’s an essential part of the holidays for me, my friends and family. Slush = Christmastime in Newfoundland, and I hope you’ll try it!
Classic Slush Recipe
In Newfoundland and Labrador, Slush is a staple at Christmastime. This easy batch cocktail recipe is typically made in a salt beef bucket leftover from Jiggs Dinner, but any large freezer-safe container will do. There are a plethora of ways to make Slush, and there are tons of different iterations from Creamiscle Slush to Tetley Tea Slush. Mine is the classic version.
Ingredients
7.5 cups of water
1.5 cups of granulated sugar
1 295-ml can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 295-ml can frozen orange juice from concentrate
1 48-oz can of pineapple juice
26-ounce bottle of rum (spiced or amber)
Lemon Lime soda to finish (7up or Sprite)
Directions
Pour water and white sugar into a large pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer until sugar is dissolved and thickens ever-so-slightly, 3 to 5 min. Remove pot from heat.
Once the mixture is cool, add lemonade and orange juice concentrates and pineapple juice and mix well until dissolved. Add rum.
Transfer the mixture to a large, freezer-safe plastic container with a lid.
Place mixture in the freezer, at least overnight, stirring periodically (every 12 hrs. or so) to ensure it doesn’t freeze solid, until the mixture is frozen into a slush.
To serve: Spoon 2 scoops of slush with an ice cream scoop into a glass and top with soda. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
‘Where We Ate’ makes a great gift
There’s still time to give the gift of restaurant history this year! My book, Where We Ate, makes a wonderful holiday gift for the person in your life who loves restaurants, who loves Canadian history or who loves to peruse pretty pictures, menus and recipes. You can pick up a copy wherever you buy books.