Trying to Be Trendy: Whipped Lemonade
So the food trend this summer is whipped lemonade. The concept is simple- along with lemon juice and sugar, something creamy is whipped into the beverage. Sounds refreshing! Given that today was hot and sticky here in central Massachusetts, I busted out the blender and gave it a whirl. (See what I did there?)
There are endless versions of whipped lemonade on the internet.
- Easy Budget Recipes has this version that includes ice cream. It is a copy-cat of the one sold at a national fast-food chain.
- All Recipes has a version that uses condensed milk, heavy cream, and ice. It sounds good, but a bit heavy.
- I found this dairy-free recipe on Eating Well, which uses coconut milk. It also requires making a fiddly simple syrup.
After reading bunches of recipes, it became clear that there is a fairly consistent ratio of lemon to creamy stuff to ice- 1:1:3; sweeten as desired. I cracked a can of coconut milk and got to mixing.
I bought unsweetened coconut milk. Mr. Food It Yourself has to watch his sugar intake. Yes, I use bottled lemon juice for almost everything. I will not apologize. One half cup of each went into the blender, then I added one and a half cups of ice. Please note that our blender is strong enough to handle whole ice cubes. Not every blender is. I used Mr. Food It Yourself’s preferred sugar substitute, but use whatever you like.
Lemonade itself has a remarkably long history. The Sugar Association (of all the places!) has a brief history of this summer staple. I imagine the gelatin from calves feet could trap whipped-in air in the lemonade just as well as whipping cream. I might play around with unflavored gelatin if we get another heat wave.
This was delicious. The coconut milk was creamy but not heavy. The lemon kept the coconut flavor subtle. I’ll add a little more ice next time, but this recipe is a keeper.
What’s your go-to refreshing treat to make when the heat hits? Share in the comments!
