Lemons Several Ways: Recipes

Don't you just love lemons? Here is a little history about lemons:

Lemons are originally from northern India. The name means “golden apple”.

Lemon trees were grown as ornamental trees in Mediterranean gardens. Lemonade is believed to have been invented in Egypt over 1,500 years ago. Lemonade originally started as a lemon and honey wine, drank primarily by peasants.

About one fourth of the world's lemons are grown in the United States, mostly in California. A lemon tree may bear as many as 3,000 lemons annually. Most lemons ripen naturally in autumn and winter.

Basic Lemonade Recipe:

1 cup hot water
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar

Pour hot water and sugar into small pitcher and stir to dissolve. Add lemon juice. Put the top on the pitcher and refrigerate.

To make a single serving, put 1/4 to 1/3 cup of syrup into a glass, then fill with water and ice. Easy and delicious!

Recipe #2: Snapple Lemon Flavored Ice Tea:

2 quarts water
3 tea bags

Boil water in large pan. When water comes to a raid boil, turn off the heat, put tea bags into water and cover. After tea has brewed an hour, pour sugar into a 2 qt. pitcher, and add the warm tea (so the sugar will dissolve easily). Add the lemon mixture (below).

Lemon Mixture:
¾ cup sugar (or a 16 oz. bottle of light corn syrup)
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Now here is the kicker: Lemon as a Medicine from this site:

When Chinese doctors reveal their remedies, there is always something worthwhile to read. The clever cure of an infected finger or toe is dealt with in this way. The top of the lemon is cut off, the finger or toe is inserted into the lemon, and bound up. In the morning the infection is ready to be cleansed and well on the way to healing.

I've been drinking a ton of Crystal Lite lemonade; maybe I will try some of the old fashioned variety today.