Old Fashioned Lemonade

Let’s not mince words, so far, 2020 is not going down as the best year ever for most of us. Between the global Covid-19 Pandemic the economic collapse and the ongoing civil disorder surrounding police brutality in the United States, there has not been much to celebrate. Still, as the saying goes, When life hands you lemons, make Old Fashioned Lemonade.

Ok maybe I paraphrased that a bit, but you get the point. One thing that many of us have more of right now is time. How we use that time will vary, but I have decided to use mine by bringing back The Blue Dish. However you are using your new-found time, take an opportunity, to slow down every once in a while, take a deep breath. We are all in this together!

Let’s make this Old Fashioned Lemonade

Get your Lemons:

If you run to the supermarket to pick your lemons you are going to normally get either Lisbon or Eureka Lemons. Most of the lemons grown in the United States are grown in California, nearly 80%. Most of those are grown in the Santa Clara River communities of Ventura, Saticoy, Santa Paula, and Filmore. This stretch of land is a throwback to what much of Southern California would have looked like before WW2. The sprawling acres of fruit trees stretches from the Los Angeles County line all the way to the sea-side city of Ventura. CA-126 cuts across this region and there are multiple roadside fruits stands where one can pull over and purchase fruits and vegetables direct from the farm.

Both the Eureka and Lisbon are going to be just fine to use. The Lisbon is seedless and tends to have a bit more juice then the Eureka. Both are the classic tart that you expect from a lemon and you will want to add sugar to your taste if you use them. There is also the Meyers Lemon but this is actually a lemon/mandarin hybrid but is sweeter and certainly can be used as well. While Eureka and Lisbon are available year-round, the Meyers is seasonal (Winter/Spring).

Once you have your lemons picked out, lets get your gear assembled.

Kitchen Equipment Needed:

• Citrus Juicer
• Large Spoon
• Measuring Cups
• Fine Mesh Strainer (Optional)
• 4-quart Container (Optional)

Making this Old Fashioned Lemonade can be a real workout if you use a manual juicer as I did. If you have a juicer attachment on a stand mixer or food processor, use it! If not, a manual citrus juicer is fine. While this is the most exotic item needed to make it, it really has so many uses that it is worth having in your gadget drawer. All the other items are common. The fine mesh strainer is only needed if you don’t want pulp in your lemonade. The 4-quart container is just useful for adding all the ingredients into.

You have your lemons, your have your gear, lets make this!

Making Old Fashioned Lemonade:

Lemon juice, water, and sugar, that is all you need. Well, and time. As I said before, juicing the lemons can be a workout, but it can also be very therapeutic. I found that placing my strainer right over the measuring cup, I could strain the pulp and seeds as I went. There is no wrong way to mix this all up, but I liked to add the lemon juice, sugar, and 2 cups of water together and mix to dissolve the sugar. Then after adding the last cups of water, I can taste it and determine if I want an additional 1/4 cup of sugar or not.

I hope you enjoy this simple Old Fashioned Lemonade. If you make it, let us know by using the #BlueDish hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!