I have a funny story. Some years ago I'm at a party. A Summer pot luck. A very highly regarded foodie was there and everyone, including me, was *crazy* for her lemonade. People still talk about that delicious lemonade. At the time she had leaned over to me and whispered "It's ReaLemon. The recipe on the bottle" :)
And that's how I've been making my lemonade ever since. Everyone is just as crazy for my lemonade. I don't think ReaLemon is a bad thing. I've even used it in dressings on occasion when I've come up short on lemons. Or maybe I'll use a spot in berries to brighten things up a little.
Over the years I've tried different bottled lemon juices. I've found the major store brand juices are indistinguishable from ReaLemon. The stuff in the dollar stores is just positively horrid. Read the label. If it's just lemon juice and preservative it's fine.
The basic recipe for lemonade (from the ReaLemon package) is 2 parts lemon juice, 2 parts sugar, 13 parts water. Interestingly enough, since ReaLemon and fresh squeezed lemon juice are interchangeable, that's a universal recipe.
So 2 cups of lemon juice, 2 cups of sugar and 13 cups of water make a gallon of lemonade.
Sometimes I use club soda instead of water. Livens it up a little. Sometimes I squeeze in a lime too. Dropping in a maraschino cherry reminds me of Bermuda.
Sometimes I squeeze some fresh lemons for a treat but that's really because I like having pulp in my lemonade. I can't otherwise tell the difference.
Nothing refreshes like lemonade on a hot summer day. No not even beer!
Oh, come on! Really? Better than beer??! OK, now I am going to have to try your lemonade recipe. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Delete