I Made Cherry Limeade

Shortly before my birthday, Karlene, my roommate at the time, took me to Sonic, the closest place where you can get a half-way authentic Chicago Hot Dog.  At Sonic, I had a wonderful drink called Cherry Limeade.  Since then, I have been trying to replicate it. 

I found this recipe on the internet.  The frozen limeade you get from the grocery store has lots of corn syrup in it, and tastes pretty pathetic.  I started making Perfect Lemonade a couple years ago.  It’s still my favorite.  Limes are smaller than lemons and also cost a little bit more than their yellow cousins.  You might want to make Cherry Limeade when limes are on sale.

I juice lemons and limes by hand using a hand juicer that I bought on-line.  The easiest way to juice citrus is to cut the fruit in half at the widest point.  Now, imagine that the cut fruit is the face of a a clock.  Make small cuts with with a sharp knife at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock.  This makes the fruit easier to squeeze and you will get more juice.

CHERRY LIMEADE

º       1 ½ cups granulated sugar

º       1 ½ cups water

º       Small pinch of salt

º       1 ½ cups fresh squeezed lime juice

º       1/3 cup maraschino cherries, not the juice

º       2 T grenadine

º       3 to 5 cups cold water (Depending on how strong you like your limeade)

º       Maraschino cherries & lime slices for garnish

In a sauce pan bring sugar, 1 ½ cups of water, and a pinch of salt to a boil. Boil until the sugar is melted and the liquid is clear; about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside and cool slightly.

Place all the ingredients together in a half gallon pitcher and stir to combine. Chill and serve with garnishes.

Perfect Lemonade

º        1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)

º        1 cup water (for the simple syrup)

º        1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

º        3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute the lemonade)

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and one cup of water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more lemon juice to it.