A Vintage Lemonade Recipe (and a modern one, too)

This simple vintage lemonade recipe will quench any thirst, and so will the modern recipe for a frosty and frothy blended basil lemonade! 

THE INSPIRATION FOR A VINTAGE LEMONADE RECIPE

A few years ago, my mother came across a well-loved copy of Canada’s Favourite Cook Book in an antique shop.

It’s aged and ragged with faded sauce stains and bonus recipe cards that were cut out of cereal boxes.

This book dates back to 1910 and is a compilation of recipes sent by ladies from both Canada and the United States who were eager to share their best recipes.

The only problem?

Well, if you’re the least bit familiar with vintage recipes, you’ll know that they can be a bit vague…

Lemonade should be made in the proportion of one lemon to each large goblet. Squeeze the lemons and take out any seeds. If you do not like the pulp strain the juice. Sweeten the drink well though that is a matter of taste. The pleasant tart taste should be preserved. Add water to the juice and when serving put cracked ice and a thin slice of lemon to each glass.

E. J. C. (a contributor to Canada’s Favorite Cook Book)

MAKING VINTAGE LEMONADE VIDEO

Making lemonade the old-fashioned way is a breeze, but if you’re brand new to the Kitchen, you’ll see that I do things a little bit differently when it comes to my videos. If you like what you see, be sure to check out the Vintage Kitchen Vixen channel on YouTube for more vintage-inspired videos!

This article may contain affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to purchase something after clicking on one of the links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

MAKING LEMONADE FOR CROWD

When making lemonade for more than one person, buy lemons in proportion to how many folks will be imbibing.

In other words, six guests, six lemons.

To make life easier, make a large batch of lemonade instead of making individual glasses as implied by the vintage recipe.

Juice the lemons, remove the seeds, and add the juice to a pitcher, with or without the pulp.

Next, add the sugar, sweetening to taste.

Finally, fill the pitcher with water, leaving plenty of room for cracked ice and plenty of fresh lemon slices.

SWEETENING THE LEMONADE

When making lemonade, I like using plain old organic sugar and mixing it in without any additional fuss.

Another option involves making a quick simple syrup, using equal amounts of sugar and water.

If we use the example of six lemons above, that would call for 24 teaspoons of sugar and water or one half-cup each.

The syrup will quickly cool down when the water and cracked ice are added to the lemonade.

If you prefer using natural sweeteners, other options to consider include maple syrup, honey, stevia, and agave syrup.

If you’re set on using an alternative sweetener, definitely sweeten the lemonade to taste bearing in mind that these will alter the flavour of the lemonade.

CRACKING THE ICE

It’s not the end of the world if you use regular ice cubes, in fact, it’s probable that few people will notice this extra step.

The benefit of cracking the ice is that it will cool the lemonade faster.

Plus, it’s fun to take a hammer to a bunch of ice cubes.

If you fix up cocktails on a regular basis, a Lewis bag with a mallet is a fun addition to the home bar.

Otherwise, wrap up a tray of ice cubes in a clean kitchen towel (empty the tray first!) and beat them with a wooden rolling pin, or something similar.

TO SPIKE OR NOT TO SPIKE?

When making or serving lemonade, one question that might crop up is whether or not to spike it.

Bourbon lemonade is a summer favourite, but there are other alcohols to consider as well.

Try it out with vodka, gin or rum.

Tequila is another spirit to consider adding to that icy glass.

The best part about this old-fashioned lemonade recipe is that it makes a perfect building block for fun lemonade cocktails, like these.

FUN LEMONADE ADDITIONS

There are so many possibilities when it comes to punching up a glass of lemonade.

• Raspberries and strawberries make colourful additions, especially when muddled.
• Experiment with using sparkling water instead of still water.
• Use flavoured simple syrups, like strawberry or raspberry.
• Stir in blended watermelon.
• Get mango in there. Ripe peaches. Cherries. Nectarines. Blueberries and blackberries. Really, you can’t go wrong with fresh fruit!
• Raid the herb garden. Play around with sage, lavender, rosemary, mint or basil. Speaking of which…

TRY THIS FROSTY BLENDED BASIL LEMONADE RECIPE

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with the vintage lemonade recipe.

It’s light, refreshing, and perfect on a hot day.

That being said, it’s a lot of fun to play around with flavours, and basil is one of them.

If you’ve never ventured out so far as to take a sip of basil lemonade, you’re in for a treat.

This blended basil lemonade is both frothy and frosty and looks beautiful and intriguing poured in a glass.

My husband loves it with a cheeky shot of gin, but it is absolutely delicious as is.

The recipe is below!

MAKING LEMEONADE FROM SCRATCH

Thank you so much for dropping by the Kitchen!

If you do wind up making one of these lemonade recipes, I do hope you’ll come back to let me know your thoughts and to drop a quick rating.

In case you didn’t know, recipe ratings mean the world to bloggers as they help us out a lot!

I read each and every one of my comments, so if you have any questions, just drop them in the comments below!

And just in case you’re looking for other summery recipes, be sure to check out…

OTHER SUMMERY RECIPES TO EXPLORE

Three Classic Bourbon Cocktails for Summer

Spiced Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

This savoury (and very classic) Meditarraenan puff pastry tart: Pissaladière

Rustic Tomato Puff Pastry Tart with Pesto and Kale

VINTAGE LEMONADE INGREDIENTS

For 6 servings

6 lemons, juiced

1/2 cup sugar

12 cups water

2 cups crushed ice

lemon slices to garnish

FROTHY BLENDED BASIL LEMONADE INGREDIENTS

For 5-6 servings

3 lemons

1 cup basil

1/2 cup sugar

6 cups water

2 cups ice

PRINTABLE LEMONADE RECIPE CARD

PIN IT FOR LATER

Love and gratitude,