Don’t you just love the sweet, tangy, and refreshing taste of lemonade?
Lemonade is one of the highlights when you go to state fairs.
Of course, many of us have tried to re-create this stable refreshment drink, but we can’t get the same taste. Can you relate to this?
Then you’ll love this video.
Chef John of the YouTube channel Food Wishes posted a video two years ago that earned 1.2M views.
According to him, the timing of this recipe was right. Because of the pandemic and people could not go out.
Surely everyone missed the OG lemonade.
Chef John talked about making the usual lemonade, but there was something missing. It wasn’t just fresh lemon juice that made this drink irresistible.
There was something else.
Something that made the lemonade taste stand out and it’s a mind-blowingly simple ingredient.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 6 fresh lemons
- Sugar
How to make it:
Step 1. Wash your lemons thoroughly. Some lemons are waxy, so you need to scrub them in hot water.
You may think, why we would put so much effort into cleaning and even scrubbing the lemons? The reason for this is that the secret lies with the lemon peel.
Step 2. Get your handy-dandy vegetable peeler and carefully peel the lemon zest. As much as possible, don’t include any of the white parts, just the yellow part.
This can be a challenge, but trust us, it will be all worth it.
Lemon facts:
Did you know that lemon peels have oils in them that contain a lot of lemon flavors? If you can extract these flavors, it will make your lemonade extra special.
Step 3. Once you have all the lemon peels in a bowl, pour in all the sugar. Mix it all up until each peel is well coated in sugar.
The secret?
This process allows the sugar to pull out all the lemon’s essential oils, and they get infused into the sugar, creating a flavor that will improve your lemonade.
Step 4: Cover it with cling wrap and let it sit between two to twelve hours. The longer, the better.
Oleo Saccharum
It may sound like a chant, but it’s the term used to describe what we just did here. It stems from the root word “Oleo” or oil and then “Saccharum” or sugar.
This is the secret to making the best lemonade. It’s also used in cocktails and other drinks.
Step 5. Mix your Oleo-saccharum. Then, place five cups of water on a pot over high heat. Pour the oleo-saccharum in and let it sit there for about five minutes.
Then strain the liquid to remove peels.
Step 6. Let your mixture cool down. We can’t add the lemon juice while it’s hot.
Once cool, squeeze your lemon juice in. This is where you can add sugar or lemons according to your liking.
Step 7. Chill the lemonade, then serve with lots of ice!
Chef John’s tip:
If you serve it at room temperature, the ice will melt and water down the taste. Serving it chilled with ice will give you the best experience of drinking lemonade.
See Chef John’s delicious process in the video tutorial below!
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