lemonade

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Pitcher of freshly made lemonade

Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar. It is variously produced fresh directly from fruit, reconstituted from frozen juice, dry powder, or liquid concentrate; filtered clear and carbonated as a fizzy soda; and colored in a variety of shades. Artificially sweetened and artificially flavored versions are also popular.

Terminology

Selling lemonade in Germany during 1931

The term "lemonade" has a variety of meanings, differing by region.

In the UK, the suffix '-ade' means a 'carbonated sweet soft drink'; hence limeade, orangeade, cherryade, etc. Brown lemonade exists in the Northern Ireland region of the UK.

In the Republic of Ireland, lemonade refers to the carbonated, lemon-flavored soft drink (as in the UK) but is further sub-divided into white (clear) lemonade and red lemonade. White lemonade equates to the colourless fizzy lemonade common in many countries, while red lemonade is particular to Ireland. Red lemonade differs slightly in taste from white lemonade and is either drunk neat or as part of a whiskey mixer.

American-style lemonade exists in the UK as a "homemade" juice (also called lemonade), but is only rarely sold commercially under that name. A carbonated version is commonly sold commercially as "cloudy" or "traditional" lemonade. There are also similar uncarbonated products, lemon squash and lemon barley water, both of which are usually sold as a syrup which is diluted to taste. Traditional lemonade also comes in powder packages. Variations on this form of lemonade can be found worldwide. In India and Pakistan, where it is commonly known as limbu paani or nimbu paani, lemonade may also contain salt and/or ginger juice. Shikanjvi is a traditional lemonade from the India-Pakistan region and can also be flavored with saffron, garlic and cumin.

In Australia and New Zealand, lemonade can also refer to any clear, carbonated soft drink with a primarily lemon flavor; e.g. a lemon-lime soft drink, such as Sprite. Culturally however, with a drink such as Sprite, the flavor is not recognised as "lemon-lime", but just plain "lemonade", although it is still the same flavor as its international counterpart. Other colored (and flavored) soft drinks are sometimes referred to by their color such as "red lemonade" or "green lemonade", implying that "lemonade" is the clear version of its "flavored" counterparts.

In France, limonade, originally meant an unsweetened lemon-flavored water or carbonated soda, but has since come to mean "soft drink", regardless of flavor, there and elsewhere.

Lemon juice

Lemon juice is a juice extracted from the lemon that is commonly used to make lemonade.

Lemon juicer, showing fresh pulp and juice expressed from a lemon half

Uses

The average lemon contains approximately 3 tablespoons (50 mL) of juice.

Lemon juice is commonly used to make lemonade. Lemonade is a beverage that is made primarily using lemon juice, water, and sugar.

Lemon juice is acidic with a pH of around 2.3 on the pH scale.

Commercially, lemon juice is sold as a bottled product as a concentrated solution. Usually with the addition of preservatives and a small amount of lemon oil.

Health Benefits

Lemons are often added to water to add flavor. However, drinking water with lemon juice provides benefits beyond improved taste. Lemon water provides a wide range of healthy body benefits; aides in decreasing dehydration, cleanses the liver, promotes better digestion and metabolism. All of these benefits can result in weight loss as well.^{[citation needed]}

There is a high level of vitamin C present in lemons.^[1] Vitamin C has several positive health benefits for the human body. Vitamin C acts as powerful antioxidant against harmful environmental toxins, improves protection of the immune system and reduces the risk of hypertension. Also, historically Gilbert Blane used it to fight scurvy in the British Navy.^[2]

In the US and Canada

American townspeople offering lemonade to the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy

Four types are common:

• Freshly squeezed, the classic lemonade, made with fresh lemon juice, water, and sugar. Slices of lemon are sometimes added to a pitcher as a garnish and further source of flavoring

• Reconstituted, made from commercially preserved juice, either concentrated canned frozen juice (pre-sweetened with sugar or corn syrup) or unsweetened liquid juice (stabilized with a preservative)

• Powdered mix, made with natural and artificial flavorings and sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener

• Slush, a form of shaved ice made of lemon juice and/or pieces, and sugar and popular at theme parks, fairs

Pink lemonade

Pink lemonade from the Czech Republic

Pink lemonade may be colored with the juices of raspberries, cherries, red grapefruit, grapes, cranberries, strawberries, grenadine,^[3] or artificial food dye. Though pink-fleshed, the ornamental Eureka lemon is not used as its juice is clear and typically too sour to drink.

The New York Times credited Henry E. "Sanchez" Allott as the inventor of pink lemonade in his obituary:

At 15 he ran away with a circus and worked in lemonade concession. One day while mixing a tub of the orthodox yellow kind he dropped some red cinnamon candies in by mistake. The resulting rose-tinted mixture sold so surprisingly well that he continued to dispense his chance discovery.^[4]

Another theory, as recorded by historian Joe Nickell, in his book Secrets of the Sideshows, is that it was Pete Conklin who first invented the drink in 1857 when he used water dyed pink from a horse rider's red tights to make his lemonade.^[5]

Uses

Lemonade seller in Selânik, Ottoman Empire (pre-1890)

In the US, lemonade is usually sold as a summer refresher. It is commonly available at fairs and festivals, known in some regions as a "lemon shakeup", with the shell of the squeezed lemon left in the cup.^[6] Lemonade was also the traditional mixer in a Tom Collins, but today it is commonly replaced by a bar mix.

UK-style lemonade and beer produce a shandy. Lemonade is also an important ingredient in the Pimm's Cup cocktail, and a popular drink mixer. As UK-style lemonade is a popular drink mixer, British & Australian visitors are often disappointed when they order a mixed drink in the US and end up getting US-style lemonade.^{[original research?]} American bartenders are also sometimes puzzled by the ordering of lemonade in some mixed drinks.

Many children start lemonade stands in Canadian and US neighborhoods to make money in the summer months. The concept has become iconic of youthful summertime Americana to the degree that many parodies and variations on the concept exist in a wide variety of media. The computer game Lemonade Stand, created in 1979, simulates this business by letting players make various decisions surrounding a virtual stand. Some unlicensed lemonade stands have run afoul of health regulations.^[7]

Daily consumption of four ounces of lemon juice per day, when mixed with two liters of water, has been shown to reduce the rate of stone formation in people susceptible to kidney stones. Lemons contain the highest concentration of citrate of any fruit, and this weak acid has been shown to inhibit stone formation.^[8]

"Cloudy" lemonade made with hot water, infused with mint, and sweetened with honey is a common folk remedy for sore throat in the Middle East.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Limeade
• Chanh muối
• Mike's Hard Lemonade

References

1. ^ "Lemon juice, raw". http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1938/3. Retrieved April 23, 2012. 
2. ^ "Sir Gilbert Blane". http://www.maybole.org/Notables/sir_gilbert_blane.htm. Retrieved December 29, 2011. 
3. ^ An Easy to Prepare Old Fashioned Southern Beverage Favorite
4. ^ "Inventor of pink lemonade dead." (PDF). New York Times: p. 11. 1912-09-18. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C07E1D81630E233A2575BC1A96F9C946396D6CF. Retrieved 2007-09-21. 
5. ^ Is it made from pink lemons?
6. ^ Fun at the Ohio State Fair.. In Search of the Perfect Lemon Shake Up
7. ^ Jung, Helen (August 4, 2010), Portland lemonade stand runs into health inspectors, needs $120 license to operate, OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/portland_lemonade_stand_runs_i.html 
8. ^ Carr, Jackie (April 22, 2010). "Five Ways to Prevent Kidney Stones". UC San Diego. http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2010/4-22-kidney-stones.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Lemonade

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lemonade

• Of the Street Sale of Ginger-Beer, Sherbet, Lemonade,&C., from London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 1, Henry Mayhew, 1851; subsequent pages cover the costs and income of street lemonade sellers.