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Growing up, I always loved my grandmother’s lemonade. So fresh. Thirst-quenching. Liquid delight on a hot summer day.
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Grandma was a stickler for making everything from scratch, and her lemonade was no exception…or was it? I always saw pulp and orange or lemon slices in it, and it was always so good! But one day I learned that Grandma made her lemonade from powder! Horrors!
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Well, not really. Ever try to make a couple of gallons of hand squeezed lemonade? You’ll quickly find that it nearly takes a citrus grove to do so. One citrus grove plus one sugar cane field, to be precise.
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Her trick? She made up the lemonade from powder, cut off a few slices of lemon, and squeezed the juice of the remaining fruit into the mix.
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We’ve also found that doing this with oranges also gives a good flavor. Two quarts of lemonade from a mix , plus 2 or 3 oranges equals some mighty fine lemonade! Want a more fruity lemonade–add your fruits of choice. Our favorites are raspberry or strawberry lemonade, and using frozen fruits will keep it from getting watered down. In the first months of our marriage, this was about the only beverage I served. 
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Another tip to get more flavor from your citrus? Make the lemonade with warm water before adding the fruit, and then refrigerate overnight.
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Of course, I would definitely prefer all natural lemonade. But when citrus groves are hard to come by, I’ll take my grandmother’s secret swipe. I guess I’ll allow this with lemonades…particularly since whole sugar cane fields are not exactly healthy, no matter how you serve them.
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Being a lover of fine lemonades, I would love to recreate Chick-Fil-A’s lemonade. I’ve searched high and low, but have not been able to find a recipe. I’ve tried real lemon juice, lemon crystals, boiling lemons, and many other tricks; but no success. If any other lemonade connoisseurs have, I’d love to know the secret!
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For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday tips, check here.
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Top image courtesy of jupiterimages.com
Filed under: Kitchen Tip Tuesday, homemaking, household tips, recipes
According to a Chick-Fil-A’s manager.
It contains just fresh squeeze lemon juice, sugar, and water.
Their measurements:
2 quarts fresh squeezed lemon juice.
7 cups of sugar
8 quarts of water.
Or you could try this recipe:
http://recipecircus.com/recipes/A1cooking/COPYCAT/Chick-Fil-A_Lemonade_and_Diet_Lemonade_.html
Thanks Jennifer,
I will definitely have to try this once I can get some fresh lemons!!!
I’ve tried it with bottled lemon juice, but not fresh squeezed.
I too love their recipe but my recipe was always to add 1 cup of sugar to the Countrytime recipe…try it….you wont go back.
Real squeezed lemons taste great w/ a touch of vanilla extract. I should try it w/ podered too. I’ll post if it’s good. Smiles to you, Holly
I worked at Chick Fil A in my teen years. It really is hand sqeezed fresh lemons. Believe me, I have done it and I had the raw hands to prove it! I squeezed dozens of them and then the juice and water goes into some HUGE containers…probably 20 gallons or larger. Just dump the sugar in. The diet uses artificial sweetener instead of real sugar.