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Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink.
Glass of cloudy homemade lemonade, typical in North America, France and South Asia
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Carbonated lemonade (R. White's lemonade soft drink pictured), typical in the UK, Ireland and Oceania
There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world.[1] In North America and South Asia, lemonade is typically non-carbonated and non-clarified (called "cloudy lemonade" in British English, or lemon squash in Australian English). It is traditionally a homemade drink using lemon juice, water, and a sweetener such as cane sugar, simple syrup, maple syrup or honey.[2] In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Central Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, a carbonated lemonade soft drink is more common. Despite the differences between the drinks, each is known simply as "lemonade" in countries where it is dominant.
The suffix "-ade" may also be applied to other similar drinks made with different fruits, such as limeade, orangeade, or cherryade.[3]
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A drink made with lemons, dates, and honey was consumed in Mamluk Egypt, including a lemon juice drink with sugar, known as qatarmizat.[4] In 1676, a company known as Compagnie de Limonadiers sold lemonade in Paris.[5] Vendors carried tanks of lemonade on their backs and dispensed cups of the soft drink to Parisians.[6]
While carbonated water was invented by Joseph Priestley in 1767 (with his pamphlet Directions for Impregnating Water with Fixed Air published in London in 1772),[7] the first reference found to carbonated lemonade was in 1833 when the drink was sold in British refreshment stalls.[8] R. White's Lemonade has been sold in the UK since 1845.[9]
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Cloudy lemonade
The predominant form of lemonade found in the US, Canada, and India, cloudy lemonade, also known as traditional or old fashioned lemonade in the UK and Australia, is non-carbonated and made with fresh lemon juice; however, commercially produced varieties are also available. Generally served cold, cloudy lemonade may also be served hot as a remedy for congestion and sore throats,[10] frozen, or used as a mixer.
Traditionally, children in US and Canadian neighborhoods start lemonade stands to make money during summer. The concept has become iconic of youthful summertime Americana to the degree that parodies and variations exist across media. References can be found in comics and cartoons such as Peanuts, and the 1979 computer game Lemonade Stand.[11]
Pink lemonade
A popular variation of traditional lemonade, pink lemonade, is created by adding additional fruit juices, flavors, or food coloring to the recipe. Most store-bought pink lemonade is simply colored with concentrated grape juice or dyes.[12] Among those using natural colors, grape is the most popular, but cranberry juice, beet juice or syrup made from brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, or cherries are also used.[13]
The origin stories generally associate pink lemonade's invention with traveling circuses in the US.[13] A 1912 obituary credited the invention of pink lemonade to circus worker Henry E. "Sanchez" Allott, saying he had dropped in red cinnamon candies by mistake.[14] Another origin story credits another circus worker, Pete Conklin, in 1857. His brother, lion tamer George Conklin, tells the story in his 1921 memoir, The Ways of the Circus.[13] According to the story, Conklin's lemonade was a mixture of water, sugar and tartaric acid, with the tub garnished with a single lemon that he repeatedly used for the season. One day, he ran out of water. Searching desperately, he found a tub of water a bareback rider had recently used to rinse her pink tights. Adding in the sugar, acid and remaining bits of lemon, he offered the resulting mixture as "strawberry lemonade" and saw his sales double.[12][15]
Real lemons were too expensive for the circus, so artificial substitutes were widely used.[13] In the past, tartaric acid was commonly used to produce the typical tart flavor.[13] In the modern era, commercially produced lemonade and powdered mixes tend to rely on citric acid.[13]
Though not the term's primary meaning, "pink lemonade" can also describe[16][17][18][19][20] "Indian lemonade", or lemonade made by soaking dried sumac berries, especially berries of species like Rhus typhina ("staghorn sumac"),[21] Rhus aromatica ("fragrant sumac", "lemon sumac"),[22] Rhus glabra ("smooth sumac", "scarlet sumac"),[23][24] or Rhus integrifolia ("lemonade sumac", "lemonade berry");[25] Indian lemonade has a similar pinkish color.
Clear lemonade
The predominant form of lemonade in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Australia is a clear, lemon-flavoured carbonated beverage. Schweppes, Kirks, R. White's Lemonade and C&C are common brands, and shops usually carry a store-branded lemonade as well.[9] Schweppes uses a blend of lemon and lime oils.[26] Other fizzy drinks, soft-drinks (or pop) which are both lemon and lime flavoured may also sometimes be referred to as lemonade, such as Sprite and 7 Up. There are also speciality flavours, such as Fentimans Rose Lemonade, which is sold in the UK, the US, and Canada. Shandy, a mixture of beer and clear lemonade, is often sold pre-bottled, or ordered in pubs.[27]
Brown lemonade
There are various drinks called brown lemonade. In Northern Ireland, brown lemonade is flavoured with brown sugar.[28] A variant from Venezuela has cane sugar and lime.[29]
Other varieties
In India and Pakistan, where it is commonly known as nimbu paani, and in Bangladesh, lemonades may also contain salt or ginger juice called lebur shorbot.[30] Shikanjvi is a traditional lemonade from this region, and can also be flavored with saffron, cumin and other spices.[31][32][33]
Limonana, a type of lemonade made from freshly squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves, is a common summer drink in the Middle East.[34] In Northern Africa, a drink called cherbat is made of lemon, mint, and rose water.[citation needed]
Switcha is a version of the drink made in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos that can also be made with limes instead of lemons.[citation needed]
Citron pressé
In France, it is common for bars or restaurants to offer citron pressé, also called citronnade, an unmixed version of lemonade in which the customer is given lemon juice, syrup and water separately to be mixed in their preferred proportions.[35]
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Drink dispenser containing lemonade.
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