Squash (fruit cordial)

Squash — also called cordial or fruit cordial — is a sweetened fruit concentrate sold as a thick syrup that is diluted with water to taste before drinking. A defining British and Commonwealth household staple, it is bought by the bottle, kept in the cupboard, and mixed roughly one part concentrate to four or more parts still or sparkling water at the point of serving. The flavour is bright, sweet and fruity — orange, blackcurrant, lemon, lime and summer-fruit blends are the classics — and the drink is prized for being cheap, long-keeping and endlessly adjustable, from a barely-tinted "weak" glass to a strong, intense mix.