Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Turn your lemons into lemonade
 **FOR USE WITH AP LIFESTYLES** A jar of lemons is seen in this Wednesday, April 30, 2008 photo. Fresh lemons are the key to success when looking to make great summertime lemonade. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe) |
After nearly a decade in the lemonade business, Josh Thomas is looking forward to handing off some of his responsibilities to a successor. But he’ll probably wait until his brother turns 4, the same age he was when he opened his award-winning stand.
At age 13, Thomas has shown a shrewd business sense when it comes to marketing the lemonade stand he sets up each summer at two community festivals near his home in Silverton, Ore. But he’s also tinkered with his recipe over the years to create a product that pleases both the eye and the palate.
“Since I sell a lot, I use lemonade concentrate, fresh lemons dipped in sugar, then extra sugar for a sweeter taste,” says Josh, who displays his lemonade in a clear container with lemon slices bobbing alongside ice cubes made from frozen juice. “I keep making fresh batches, that way people can smell it and it attracts them to the stand.”
Josh doesn’t set up his stand until August, but lemonade season is upon us. And when it comes to this quintessential summer drink, there is a lemonade recipe to suit every taste, from simply squeezed blends of lemon, water and sugar to upscale concoctions infused with fruit and herbs.
Fred Thompson, author of the cookbook “Lemonade,” calls lemonade “comfort food in a glass.”
“It’s as nostalgic as Mom’s meatloaf,” he says. “We all have some memories of it as a child ... It’s sort of this sense of generations that quite frankly we don’t have a lot of these days.”
The taste of lemonade is satisfying because it combines sweet and sour flavors, he says. “If made appropriately, it’s sort of an exciting thing to have in your mouth.”
Appropriately is the key word. There is no circumstance under which powdered lemonade mix is acceptable, other than to add a bit of flavor to iced tea, Thompson says.
“To me, lemonade is about fresh. It’s about bold,” he says. “It’s like using fresh herbs at the last minute in a savory dish.”
Along those lines, Thompson also steers clear of bottled, reconstituted lemon juice.
In a pinch, store-bought lemonade can be transformed into a reasonably good beverage by adding the juice of a few fresh lemons and their rinds and refrigerating the mixture overnight, he says.
Some of Thompson’s recipes also include frozen lemonade concentrate mixed with fresh ingredients. But for truly tasty lemonade, fresh lemon juice and zest are critical, he says, and you don’t need a fancy juicer.
“I still like old-fashioned, simple reamers,” he says. “They’re as effective as anything else, easy to store and they don’t cost a lot of money.”
Thompson also suggests sweetening lemonade with superfine sugar, because it dissolves more quickly than conventional granulated sugar. A simple syrup (made by boiling water and sugar) also is good.
Old-fashioned lemonade
For the sugar syrup:
Grated zest of 2 lemons
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
For the lemonade:
2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 12 lemons), with half of the rinds reserved and roughly chopped
3 cups cold water
To make the sugar syrup, in a medium saucepan combine the zest, sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
Transfer the syrup to a 2-quart pitcher. Let cool.
Add the lemon juice, chopped lemon rinds and cold water. Stir well to combine. Chill until very cold. Serve over ice.
(Recipe from Fred Thompson’s “Lemonade,” Harvard Common Press, 2002)
Vanilla bean lemonade
12-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
6 cups cold water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract, to taste
2 large lemons, quartered and seeded
In a 3-quart pitcher, combine the lemonade concentrate, water, sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
If you are using vanilla beans, split the beans lengthwise down the middle and scrape out the seeds into the lemonade mixture. Discard the beans. Stir until the seeds have separated. Alternatively, add vanilla extract to taste.
Let the lemonade steep for at least 10 minutes.
Strain the lemonade, if desired, through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any vanilla bean residue. Squeeze each lemon wedge into the pitcher, then add the rinds.
Chill until very cold and serve in tall glasses over ice.
(Recipe from Fred Thompson’s “Lemonade,” Harvard Common Press, 2002)
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