In Texas there is nothing more refreshing during the summer than a drink of ice-cold lemonade or limeade (with the exception of Dr Pepper), especially if your tap water source is a lake and the lake has “turned” and now tastes like pond water. Most natural born Texans will add to the necessary know how of making fresh citrus drinks the knowledge of brewing up your own iced sweet tea (no lemon please), but since I’m Mormon I kinda feel weird telling you how to make the BEST sweet tea ever (yes, I do have a recipe). I’ll have to share my great-grandmother’s recipe in another post for my non-LDS readers.
The lucky thing for us Texans is that lemons and especially limes come cheap in these parts. If you’re adventurous enough to visit a Hispanic grocer (aka a Mexican grocery store), then you can find limes even less expensive. There are plenty of varieties of limes, with key limes and regular-sized ones (technically Tahiti or Persian limes) being the most popular; I prefer the regular palm-sized ones just because they’re easier to work with.
The problem with most people when they make fresh lemon or lime ade type drinks is that they take way too long juicing them. I’ve made the same mistake where I bought one of those citrus juicer things and squeezed, pressed, and squished trying to get every last drop of juice out of the fruit. After spending five minutes on one, I start on the next one and so on until I spend what seems like forever juicing the stupid things. I’m telling you there’s a much less complicated way to make lemonade and limeade out there and it only takes about five minutes from start to finish! Here’s what you’ll need:
- A blender
- A fine mesh strainer or colander
- A spoon
- A sharp knife
- 2 regular sized lemons or limes
- 1 1/2 cups water, plus more to fill a 2 liter or 2 quart pitcher
- 1-2 cups sugar or to taste
First wash your limes under running water and then quarter them. I have more limes pictured because I’m making more than one batch.
Place two limes (8 pieces) into a blender, fill with 1 1/2 cups water, and blend for 10 seconds or until the lime pieces are chopped finely.
Place fine wire mesh strainer or colander over a 2 quart (about 2 liters) pitcher and then pour the lime/water mixture from the blender into the strainer so the lime juice falls into the pitcher. Using the back of a spoon gently press any remaining juice from the pulp.
Fill with cold water, sugar, and ice, if needed. Stir and enjoy! Makes 2 quarts.
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