It’s been quite a warm summer for many of us here in the U.S. and with the heat comes the constant craving for a cold and refreshing drink. Whether it’s from your neighbor’s kid’s stand or the concession guy in that huge theme park, it seems like nothing quenches that summer thirst quite like a cold glass of lemonade.
Is it just me or has it been ages since you last saw a neighborhood lemon stand too?
Lemonade is pretty simple to make. All you need is fresh lemons, water, and sugar or your sweetener of choice. Aside from just tasting so darn good, lemon juice comes with a slew of health benefits as well. The ancient Romans even used it as their preferred poison antidote. In other words, they used lemons to save lives. As far as health benefits go, I don’t think it gets much better than that.
Of course, these days, we don’t expect that much from our lemons. We’re pretty happy just letting it sit in a pitcher with its friends. And some ice.
Clockwise from left: Meyer Lemon Lemonade from a for aubergine, Luscious Lemonade from staceycooks. and Stacey’s Best Homemade Lemonade from babskitchen.
Lemon juice is also high in Vitamin C, which helps your body fight off colds. Due to their ability to induce perspiration (and hence lower your body temperature), lemon balms are often used to break a fever.
Lemons also smell incredibly good, and when paired with equally aromatic herbs in a glass of lemonade, it’s like … like sipping from a babbling brook nestled between rustling trees that perfume a forest with the scent of freshly-picked wildflowers.
(I may or may not have watched Bambi last night.)
Clockwise from left: Sparkling Ginger Lemonade from ThePastryFlake, Becky’s Mint Lemonade Slush from callimakesdo, and Minted Lemonade from ThreeManyCooks.
Lemonade not only benefits from the addition of herbs but it also plays nice with other fruits, often bringing out the best of their flavors. Lemons make great wing men, and these wing men say that if you’re going to make them pink, it’d be nice if you did it with style.
From left to right: Raspberry Lemonade from onelovelylife, Strawberry Basil Lemonade from whatsgabycooking, and Tangy Strawberry Lemonade from europegirl87.
In true Tasty Kitchen fashion, we can even go all out and push the lemonade envelope. Our members are just so creative with their ideas and their creations never fail to amaze me, like chefjulian’s Mango Lemonade with Coconut Milk and a Green Lemonade from elanaspantry.
And finally, we can’t do a lemonade theme without a little something for the adults. What better way to round this up than with a grown-up version of lemonade from none other than our lovely Jaden? Her Vodka Thyme Lemonade is simple, refreshing, and the perfect way to relax and wind down at the end of a hot summer day.
Just make sure your kids don’t take your pitcher out to their stand by mistake. I don’t want you to find yourself on the other side of a different kind of “lemon law.”
As much as I love lemonade and lemon-infused drinks, I have to admit that my favorite way to eat lemons is peeled, separated into sections, and then dipped in a bit of salt. My favorite use for lemons? I use lemon halves as a scrubber for my pots and pans that have strong food smells.
How about you? Do you like lemons? What’s your favorite way to use them?
44 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
kandy on 8.9.2010
I like eating them with salt too!
Ever since my parents gave them to me as a baby (to see my funny reaction), I have been scarfing them up! I used to come home from high school, grab a bag of lemons, a sleeve of saltines, and a shaker of salt and watch my ‘soaps’
Love em!!!!
loveandbutter (Jamie) on 8.8.2010
I love lemons! My recent favorite summer drink is a raspberry-lemon “spritzer”. Crushed fresh berries, lemon juice, club soda, and some vodka for us grown-ups
http://bakedwithloveandbutter.blogspot.com/2010/07/raspberry-lemon-summer-spritzer.html
KarenJ on 8.7.2010
Forgot to mention that since we ar currently being inundated with plums I just tried out a fabulous lemon plum cake. Bonus – it only take s a half cup of sugar.
KarenJ on 8.7.2010
Living where lemons are abundant I use them all the time. After all, it’s not such a big deal to step down the road and pick a few off the tree. Lemon zest goes into herbed rice. (I love raspers!) Zest and juice go onto chicken, shrimp and local fish. Lemons and salt clean copper and brass. And big bowls of them, along with oranges, tangerines, mandarins, etc. ( groves are also on my road) sit around looking beautiful in my kitchen. (I have to confess, it always astounds me when I go into town – only 6km. away – and see people actually buying the aforementioned two citruses. I do have to buy grapefruits and limes because they like a very different soil from their cousins the lemons and the various members of the orange family.)
maldo1975 on 8.7.2010
Me too!!! I love lemmons sectioned and eaten with salt.
Julie on 8.7.2010
During the heat of this summer I’ve discovered something wonderful. Squeezing the juice of a whole lemon into plain water! Why was it a “discovery”? For this you have to understand that my brain shuts off at temperatures past 25C and when it was 35C on my patio I was a walking zombie. After drinking a glass of lemon water – I swear to you it is true – it was like my brain cleared!!! and for a while I was functional again. WOW! cheap and healthy meds what could be better?
westcoastswedishgirl on 8.6.2010
How could I pick just one favorite way to use lemons!? They are fabulous, in every way! Even my teenage boy likes them.
Irina on 8.6.2010
On every salad and almost any veggie! Abundantly! And also along with thyme and garlic for a wonderful chicken in the oven recipe. Mmmm…
Susan on 8.5.2010
I love lemonade! I steep strips of the lemon peel in with the simple syrup that I make as the sweetner for my lemonade..it gives it deeper flavor without bits of zest floating in the drink.
My favorite way to infuse a subtle lemon flavor into many desserts is to vigorously rub strips of lemon peel with the sugar in the recipe. It perfumes the sugar perfectly and freshens the flavor in many desserts.
I rub the inside of the mixing bowl in which I whip egg whites with a wedge of lemon then wipe the bowl lightly with a clean cloth. It insures that any grease is wiped out and, as a bonus, it works to stablize the whites instead of needing cream of tartar.
landpandg on 8.5.2010
Lemons are one of those things that make life just that much more pleasant. What could be better than something that tastes fantastic, can be used innumerable ways and is health to boot. Your recipes make my mouth water.
americangirlinquebec on 8.5.2010
I love lemon, but I try to avoid eating it plain (or as you stated, dipped in salt), because its high level of acidity will quickly eat through enamel and weaken teeth. I learned this a few years ago from a friend who was a regular lemon-head and ate them plain almost daily. Needless to say she is still dealing with teeth issues, and she gave up that habit a few years ago. Just a heads up for any other lemon-heads out there.
Manny on 8.5.2010
I can’t stop making Twopeasandtheirpod’s Lemon Raspberry bars! So delicious and easy
https://tastykitchen.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/lemon-raspberry-bars/
Joan C on 8.5.2010
With a lemon tree in the back yard, I’m always looking for new ways…but nothing can beat lemon bars or lemon meringue pie thus far.
bttrflybabydoll on 8.5.2010
LOVE lemons! Just in the past couple of weeks I’ve made Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, Lemon Blueberry Cake with White Chocolate Frosting, and PW’s Baked Lemon Pasta! That’s just three off the top of my head. Got a bunch more in the refrigerator to use up still! I want to find a great strawberry lemonade recipe. I’ll have to try this one and see how it is! Thanks!
Sarah on 8.5.2010
One way I loved to eat lemons as a kid was to cut out one of the knobbly ends on the lemon, stick in a big ol’ fat peppermint stick with the ends gnawed off and suck the the lemon juice through the peppermint stick. Yummy! It’s way too sour for me now though. Good memories!
Lori-n-TX on 8.5.2010
Jamie—I was just wondering (as I scrolled down) if anyone had a great limoncello recipe!
I love just about anything lemon…and use the disposal trick too!
Jamie on 8.5.2010
I just made a big jug of limoncello. Better than anything you can buy in the store! Easy to make, just takes time and lots of waiting!
Rae B on 8.4.2010
Love Lemons. I ate a half of a lemon with sea salt a couple of days ago. My mom gave me this recipe that’s sort of like a homemade
Gatorade. It really helps you feel better after you drink it especially if you have to work outside in the heat like my husband does. Juice of 1/2 lemon, sugar or sweetner to taste, pinch of real sea salt, pinch of baking soda, fill glass with cold water and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Taste best if chilled.
emily {onelovelylife} on 8.4.2010
Thanks for featuring my raspberry lemonade! I’m so intrigued by the green lemonade and the coconut milk one! Ooh-la-la!
Lemonade Makin' Mama on 8.4.2010
I love lemonade pie! And lemon bars. And lemon sugar cookies with sunshiney lemon icing. And lemon cake. And now I need to stop because I’m hungry!!
Chelle in MO on 8.4.2010
We LOVE lemonade! Our neighbor girls have had stands several times this summer, but we can’t buy from them since they put their hands in the pitcher to fish out foreign objects! Ewww!
janetb21 on 8.4.2010
Oh man, I love lemonade but it gives me heartburn!
sdsue on 8.4.2010
when life gives you lemons…throw them back and demand chocolate!! Or make some of the recipes above…they look fantastic!
Kara on 8.4.2010
After I juice lemons, I chop them into quarters and let my garbage disposal eat them up. Makes the whole house smell fresh and clean, especially since those disposals can get funky smells sometimes
LadyJane on 8.4.2010
After lemonade, my favorite thing is just to smell them! They smell so refreshing and invigorating!
ComfortablyDomestic on 8.4.2010
I love lemonade, lemon curd, lemon bars–you name it. I love adding lemon zest to brighten up just about any dish.
The Bitch Stopped Cooking on 8.4.2010
Looks delicious, thanks for sharing!
I am also a big proponent of the whiskey smash. We also recently tried a lemon pistachio cake. As soon as the recipe is perfected I will share it with you.
Thanks for the refreshing dose of lemonspiration!
http://www.thebitchstoppedcooking.blogspot.com
Rebecca on 8.4.2010
Love the recipes, thanks! I’m a sucker for anything made with lemons and limes. For the first time in several years, I have seen three, count ‘em 3, lemonade stands this summer. In this heat, too!
Carah on 8.4.2010
Lemons are considered a staple in my kitchen. I put lemon into almost everything it seems. Salad Dressings, Pasta, Roasted Vegetables, and Hummus. And that’s just where it starts.
Kiran on 8.4.2010
Umm.. Loads of possibilities with lemons! Lemon butter cake, salad dressing, pickles, varieties of lemonade, slushes, ice creams, sauces, mousse, etc. I’m hungry!
Theresa on 8.4.2010
Many years ago when I was suffering from kidney stones my doctor told me to have lemon in my diet everyday to prevent them from coming back….and it works! Passing kidney stones is not fun, at all.
Lu@Mudpuddle on 8.4.2010
Embarrassingly, I love to brighten my favorite soft drink , TAB, with lemon!!!!
Lindsey @ Sunshine and Jellybeans on 8.4.2010
Half lemonade, half iced tea, with a shot (or two) or vodka. Yay! Do you think that you could do a post “When the World Gives You Zucchini”??? I have them coming out of my ears.
SHeila on 8.4.2010
Lemonaid cake and lemon pie of course! Buy the frozen lemonaid put 1/2 in your cake and 1/2 in the whip crean frosting Yummy!!!!
bmd4me on 8.4.2010
I use lemons in many recipes both sweet and savory. My favorite non-cooking use for lemons is to take the shells (after they’ve been squeezed and/or the peel grated) and put them down the garbage disposal. Freshens it up in a flash!
Mary B. on 8.4.2010
This is making my mouth water for my Mom’s homemade lemon sherbert…sounds amazing on a day like today where the actual temperature is supposed to hit 106!
S. on 8.4.2010
I make lemon scones….yum…..Then freeze the juice in ice cube trays to use later.
Kim in MD on 8.4.2010
What a great post! Ooohhh….I LOVE lemons! I buy at least a dozen every week! I like to keep homemade lemon vinaigrette in the fridge at all times for quick salads. When grilling fish, I like to grill lemon halves to squeeze over the fish. Grilling the lemons really concentrates the flavor and sweetens them up!
blue-eyes on 8.4.2010
Did anyone else’s mouth pucker when she said she likes her lemons quartered with salt?
My kids loove raw lemons. ew.
bell'alimento on 8.4.2010
Um how much time do we have ; ) ….Limoncello, Lemon Curd, Limoncello Panna Cotta &
BAKED LEMONS …https://tastykitchen.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/limoni-cotto-in-forno-baked-lemons-with-mozzarella-tomatoes-and-olives/
Gaby @ What's Gaby Cooking on 8.4.2010
Love it!!! Thanks for featuring my strawberry basil lemonade!! I can’t wait to try all the other recipes too! Lemonade is the perfect summer drink
Beau @ SomethingEdible.com on 8.4.2010
This post appears to be a bit lean on booze. How ’bout (whiskey) smashing those lemons? –
http://www.somethingedible.com/index.php/food_drink/entry/re-discover_your_cocktail_shaker_the_whiskey_smash
Wenderly on 8.4.2010
I’m puckering and drooling at the same time! I’m a lemonade lover, yep…that’s what I am.
Heather (Heather's Dish) on 8.4.2010
lemonade is incredible…it really couldn’t be a better summer drink! perfect for the weekends too