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Fruit Drinks
The successf lemon-, orange- and pineapple-ade depends in large degree upon the way they are made. It is best to make a syrup as for sherbets, using one cup of granulated sugar to one cup of water. Put the sugar in cold water over the fire; stir until the sugar is dissolved; then cook until the syrup spins a fine thread. Take from the fire and add the fruit juices while the syrup is hot. If lemonade is desired, lemon should predominate, but orange or pineapple juice or both should be added to yield the best result. Small pieces of fresh pineapple, fresh strawberries and maraschino cherries added at time of serving will make the drink look pretty and will improve the flavor. Shaved or very finely cracked ice should be used.
This is a method rather than a formula — no quantities of juice or water are given, so treat the syrup as the fixed part and taste your way to the rest.
- The hinge: the thread stage"Spins a fine thread" is usually given as around 230-234F on a candy thermometer, the thread stage. Cook further and the syrup passes on to the ball stages and will set firm as it cools; a few minutes' boil after the sugar dissolves will often get you there with equal parts sugar and water, but watch it rather than trusting the clock.
- Why hot syrupAdding juice to hot syrup blends it in evenly, but it does drive off some of the fresh aroma of citrus. Cool the syrup to warm rather than boiling before the juice goes in if you want a brighter lemon note, then chill thoroughly.
- Quantities are up to youA workable starting point is 1 cup syrup, 1 cup mixed juice (say three-quarters lemon, one-quarter orange or pineapple) and 3 to 4 cups cold water, which makes 5 to 6 cups. Adjust with more water or more syrup; the mixture should taste slightly too sweet before ice is added.
- Fresh pineapple juiceRaw pineapple juice tends to turn bitter after a day or two, and the bromelain it contains breaks down milk and gelatin proteins. Use it the day it is squeezed, or use canned juice, which is heat-treated and keeps.
- Maraschino cherriesThe cherries of this period were preserved in maraschino liqueur or a bitter-almond syrup. The bright red supermarket kind are brined, bleached and dyed, and taste of little; jarred Luxardo-style cherries are much closer to what was meant.
- The iceShaved or finely cracked ice chills fast and dilutes fast. If you use modern cubes, expect less dilution and adjust the water accordingly.
- Keeping the syrupA sugar syrup of this kind keeps several weeks refrigerated in a clean sealed jar. Making a double batch and holding it is more practical than boiling sugar every time.