Whole-Fruit Lemon-Limeade is so drinkable. There’s something about the bitter-sweet balance that keeps it constantly refreshing as you work your way to the bottom of the glass. Take it to the next level by adding a shot of lavender vodka!
32+
oz.Ingredients
3-4 medium, or 2-3 large lemons
6-8 small, or 4-6 large limes
¾ cup + 2 Tbs sugar
3 cups hot tap water, divided
Directions
- Slice the lemons and limes in half. Set half of the lemon and lime halves aside. Quarter the remaining halves. Remove and discard the seeds from the quartered halves. Toss the quartered halves into a food processor and process to a pulp, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the water and continue to process until the lemons and limes are as broken down as you can get them, about 30 seconds. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl. Squeeze the reserved lemon and lime halves and add enough of their juice to the strained juice until you have 1¼ cups (10 oz.). Set aside any remaining squeezed juice. Note: it’s fun to play with the balance of strained juice and squeezed juice.
- Pour the sugar, perhaps through a funnel, into a 32-ounce howler, or some other suitable container. Add ¾-cup of the strained juice mixture. Add 2 remaining cups of water. Seal the container and shake vigorously. Adjust with more water, juice, and/or sugar, to taste. (For me, that means adding the remaining strained juice, and then maybe topping off the jug with more water.) Refrigerate. Shake before serving.
This is a beautifully balanced lemonade: “tart” and “sweet” are there, certainly, but they’re not as up-front as they typically are. That’s because they’re balanced by the bitterness of the peel. I would call it “bittersweet,” except that I fear that many people would mistakenly read that as “not sweet,” and it certain is sweet.
Social Learning
If you’re on top of things, you might realize that I’m suggesting that you can fit more than 32 ounces into a 32-ounce jug. Well, you can. Many howlers, like the ones I have, contain a generous bit of head space to preserve carbonation and prevent spillage. You don’t need that head space for lemon-limeade, so fill’er up.
A lot of lemonade makers like to heat the sugar and water to form a simple syrup. Once it’s cool, you can make servable lemonade from it instantly. However, the time it takes to make and cool syrup is just about the same amount of time it takes for sugar to dissolve thoroughly in hot tap water, even as it sits in the refrigerator. You do have to shake it like mad, and it doesn’t hurt to take in out of the fridge after a while and shake it again.
The Backstory
A howler is a 32-ounce jug used for bringing home draft beer. Usually, they’re made of glass or stainless steel and are refillable. So typically, you buy a howler full of beer, take it home, enjoy it, and when the howler is empty and thoroughly cleaned, you take it back to the brewery to buy more. Because they’re standard sizes, many breweries will fill any howler – not just their own. If a winery serves from kegs or taps, they might also fill your howler. I spend the summers near several breweries and wineries, so having howlers on-hand is part of the standard kit.
The howlers I have come from a meadery. It’s so near my location that the bees from its apiary are buzzing around my thyme as I write this. I don’t know that for a fact, but, measuring from the meadery, I do live within the typical honeybee’s foraging radius. I love to think that the bees in my yard are helping to make the mead that I like to drink. Usually, I ride my bike over to the meadery, have my growlers filled with “cizer,” which is a mix of mead and hard cider, and pedal back. But today, I’m using the howlers for lemon-limade.
Whole-Fruit Lemon-Limeade
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Mmm, I like a bitter note. I’ll give this a try when my trees are loaded with fruit- looks delicious and very refreshing!
I love that you live somewhere where you can grow lemons and limes!
This sounds perfect
Thanks!
I really enjoyed your post Jeff, and thankyou for explaining what a howler is. Your Summers sound lovely being so close to the meadery and the breweries. My thyme doesn’t flower. It’s in a pot, so I need to think about how to correct that. I l love it though. I am presuming the herb sprig in the glass is thyme. I have the lemons but not the limes to make this. I also love that you use the skins as well.
I planted some thyme years ago, and I guess I have a nice environment for it, because it’s thrived (all on its own – I’m not a gardener at all). It’s kind of moved into many different parts of the yard, and I’m fine with it. Anyway, the part that I think gets the most sun – that patch grows tall and flowers, but the other parts don’t.
I know I would enjoy a cold glass of your limeade, the heat has been terrible this summer. Thanks for sharing.
It’s an excellent thirst quencher!
Molto dissetante e rinfrescante, perfetto con questo gran caldo!!!
Thank you!
Oh yum this looks so refreshing.
Thank you!
I love recipes that use the whole citrus! How delicious and refreshing, and I love your glass! 🙂 ~Valentina
Thanks on both counts! I recently downsized my glassware, but couldn’t part with these. (Is that the most first-world thing I’ve ever said???)
I used to have a recipe (from my boss) similar to this and I lost it. SO happy to have your version, which is really quite a bit nicer than hers. Perfect for this beastly summer!
Well, glad to provide it!
This lemon-limeade sounds insanely refreshing! I can totally picture pedalling home with a jug full of citrus goodness instead of beer. Definitely trying this one on a hot day!
I hope you do, because I’m telling you, there’s something about the bittersweet balance that makes this so much more refreshing that the typical lemonade.
So is there a BAC limit to riding your bike? 🙂 Just kidding of course! I love the idea of using your howlers to make this lemon/limeade. We have a couple stashed away somewhere…I’ll have to dig ’em out. Robbie was just asking the other day about making lemonade from scratch, so I think we might have to do this soon!
Oh, ha! I should’ve specified that I load the howlers into my panniers! Drinking and biking do not go together no matter how much I’ve tried. 🙂
Firstly, I love the Moroccan-inspired glassware, which is perfect for a refreshing summer drink. This drink you’ve concocted is unlike any other I have seen, and it seems refreshingly unique. It’s also nice to change it up without the booze; it can get a little much in the summertime.