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Lemonade (Squeeze the juice of one lemon)
Squeeze the juice of one lemon over two tablespoonfuls of sugar, remove the seeds and add one cup of boiling water. Cover until cool, then strain. Chill thoroughly, and serve with a slice of lemon or orange in a tall thin glass.
A single-serving lemonade built on a hot-water sugar syrup rather than a cold stir. The method is the point: the boiling water dissolves the sugar completely and draws flavor from the pulp and any oil clinging to it.
- YieldThis makes one tall glass, roughly 8 to 10 oz once ice is added. Scale by the lemon: one lemon and two tablespoons sugar per cup of water.
- SweetnessTwo tablespoons of sugar to one lemon is on the tart side by modern taste, and lemons today are often larger and juicier than the fruit this book would have known. Taste while the mixture is still warm and adjust before chilling, since sugar dissolves less readily once cold.
- Why cover itCovering the glass or jar while it cools should trap some of the volatile lemon oil and aroma rather than letting it steam off.
- Strain, and whyStraining removes pulp and any missed seeds, which turn bitter if left to sit in warm liquid. A fine sieve is enough; no need for cloth.
- Get the oil inFor more perfume, rub the two tablespoons of sugar against the lemon peel before juicing, or drop a strip of zest in while it cools and remove it at straining.
- DilutionIf you then fill the glass with ice, the melt will thin the drink noticeably. Either chill without ice and serve over one or two cubes, or make it with slightly more water knowing melt will thin it further.
- ServingThe recipe specifies a tall thin glass with a fruit slice. Any 10 to 12 oz glass works.
This comes from a book of non-alcoholic drinks, of a kind published when American temperance agitation was strong and "on the water wagon" was current slang for having sworn off liquor. Books of this kind set out to show that a household could entertain without wine or spirits, so simple lemonades, fruit shrubs, punches and "cups" were given careful treatment. The hot-syrup method here is older than the book: sugar and citrus were combined over heat long before refrigeration, because sugar dissolves slowly in cold water.