Summer Favourites: Lemonade

When life gives you lemons...

Origin

Before lemonade, in the medieval time period, came kashkab which is a fermented barley drink from the Mediteranean coast of Egypt that also contains mint, rue, black pepper and citron leaf. There are written accounts from the 10th century describing a lemon juice and sugar drink from both Nasir-i-Khushraw and the books and documents of the Jewish Cairo Genizah. Nasir-i-Khushraw wrote of Egyptian life and this lemon drink was common. From kashkab came qatarmizat, which sounds like basically the exact same thing as lemonade, which was bottled and exported in the 13th century.

Jump forward to the 17th century and we see a rise of lemonade production in Paris. It made its debut on August 20th, 1630 as a lemon juice drink made with sparkling water and honey. This drink became so popular and was sold by vendors who walked around with a keg of the stuff on their back. It became such a large industry that a union was formed, called the Compagnie de Limonadiers, in 1676.

Spring forward and travel even further to the Americas, during the Victorian Era lemonade was promoted as a substitution for alcohol consumption through the Women’s Temperance Movement leading to the nickname Lemonade Lucy for the first lady of the time: Lucy Webb Hayes.

Modern lemonade comes in many forms and flavours and the word lemonade means something a little different depending on where you are. I learned this quite recently from a YouTube video about cocktails actually and then came across it during my research as well. In the UK lemonade is always sparkling and may refer to a soft drink like Sprite rather than the tart, cloudy lemonade we refer to in North America. *hot tip* In the UK you can ask for cloudy lemonade and you may get something closer to what you're used to from America and asking for a lemon lime soda/pop/soft drink you will get something closer to what you're used to in the UK.

LEMONADE
Ingredients
all link on ingredients are to the ingredient spotlight posts of this blog
I find parts to be the easiest recipe for this one

1-2 parts white sugar
2 parts fresh lemon juice (I used 4 lemon and got ~1 cup juice)
Zest from those lemons
2 parts water

2-4 parts cold water

Tools

Knife
Wet measures
Pot
Mesh sieve
Fine grater or Microplane
Jug/Pitcher/Vessel

Directions

Start by zesting your lemons straight into the pot (not on heat yet.)

Take those lemons, cut ‘em in half and juice the heck out of them. Of course you can do this by hand or with a device. I did it by hand because I find it's the best option with the device I do have. If I'm doing a large batch I'll break out the juicer to save my hands.

Measure the amount of lemon juice you have and add an equal part of water. Make sure you don't have any seeds in there as it will make your final product bitter (same reason why I prefer zest over the whole lemon to avoid the bitter pith.)

Toss the liquid into the pot with your zest and start it over heat. While it begins heating add in half as much sugar as you did water and start from there. You can taste it later and add more sugar OR if you know you like it sweet go ahead and add an equal part of sugar. Bring this concoction to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until your sugar is dissolved.

Once all your sugar is dissolved strain this through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the zest. If it sits in there too long it will start getting too bitter. We’re going for tart not bitter here.

Put this into your final vessel with cool water starting with an equal part to the original lemon juice measurement. Taste and continue adding until you have a tartness you appreciate. If you know you don't want it to be too tart i suggest starting with 3 parts right away and adjusting from there. Keep in mind you will likely serve this over ice and the ice will melt and dilute your lemonade to a point so its better to adjust to a little too tart than have watered down lemonade later. But you know what you like!

Put your lemonade in the fridge to finish cooling and then serve as you like!

*If the parts in this section is confusing the short and gritty below is definitely easier to follow*

Serving

Best served over ice with a lemon wheel and/or a sprig of mint for a lovely garnish!

**pro tip** Can substitute sparkling water for the second amount of water.


Drink on a hot day while soaking up the sun or on a gloomy day when you want to add a little sunshine to your day.

Pairs well with a light lunch, snacks or BBQ meal!

Short and Gritty
Ingredients
I find parts to be the easiest recipe for this one

1-2 parts white sugar
2 parts fresh lemon juice (I used 4 lemon and got ~1 cup juice)
Zest from those lemons
2 parts water

2-4 parts cold water

Tools

Knife
Wet measures
Pot
Mesh sieve
Fine grater or Microplane
Jug/Pitcher/Vessel

Directions
1. Zest and juice lemons. Zest goes in the pot juice goes in a measuring glass.
2. Measure lemon juice. Half this measurement in 1 part.
3. Add 2 parts water and your lemon juice to the pot.
4. Add 1 part sugar. You can adjust this later just make sure you do it while it's still hot.
5. Bring to a boil, simmer until sugar is dissolved. State and adjust sugar. (remember we'll water this own so just do your best and experiment.
6. Strain.
7. Add 2 parts cool water. Taste and adjust with more water if its too tart.
8. Chill.
9. Serve.