This is a recipe with a short introduction, belonging to the series of recipes for the group stage of the WC Soccer 2019 for women. Each day I published a recipe from a country that was playing on that day, and the Netherlands played their first game on Tuesday 11 June. For this day I chose an eighteenth-century lemonade from a small booklet from circa 1765, for ladies to make confectioners candy and cookies at home. The Hand- of taafel-boekjen (‘ Hand- of table booklet’ , see bibliography) was published by the Erven van de Weduwe van Egmond (heirs of the widow Van Egmond) in Amsterdam. The anonymous author praises his own work to the detriment of other cookbooks on confectionery, except for the work published by Gerrit van den Brenk. Very sensible, as these were printed by the same publisher as his own work!
The Hand- of taafel-boekjen is rather thin, and the recipes are printed on one side only, leaving the other side blank ‘to make annotations or add other recipes’. And maybe to flesh out the volume of the book. Some recipes are unclear to me, but the last recipe in the book for lemonade is simple, and that is the one published below.
A seventeenth-century lemonade on Coquinaria: Lemonade from oranges.
The original recipe
Neemd een pintje, of zoo veel water als u geliefd limonade te maaken. Doed het in een thee-keetel en kookt het. Neemd dan een half vierendeel pond fyn gestampte amandelen; doed die daar by en een half vierendeel pond gestampte brood-suiker daar onder. Giet het door een schoon doekjen en druk daar het sap van drie citroenen in. Men laat ’er ook wel wat caneel door kooken. Doed het vervolgens in een fles en, als het te rhins mogt weezen, nog wat suiker daar by.
Take a pint, or as much as you like to make lemonade. Put this in a teakettle and boil it. Then take a half quarter pound finely ground almonds and add this with a half quarter pound powdered bread-sugar. Pour it through a clean cloth end add the juice of three pressed lemons. One can also add cinnamon during boiling. Then put it in a bottle and, if it happens to be too tart, add some more sugar.
Modern adaptation of the recipe
If I were a commercial blogger, I would announce with large black letters: gluten free and vegan!!! However, this is lemonade and that should always be gluten free and vegan. Almonds contain calcium which is good. But the lemonade also contains sugar, which is bad. One can’t have it all. If you want to have a refreshing, sugar-free drink, gluten free and vegan, try a glass of sparkling water with a tablespoon freshly pressed juice of lemon or lime. Delicious!
For about 1 litre lemonade; preparation in advance 2 minutes; preparation 15 minutes (boiling and straining) + 30 minutes and then wait for 2 hours.
1 litre water
1 cinnamon stick
100 gr sugar
100 gr almond flour
6 lemons
Preparation in advance
Pour boiling water over one of the lemons and grate it to make lemon peel.
Preparation
Put water in a pan with the cinnamon stick, broken into two pieces. Bring the water to the boil and stir in the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, add lemon peel and almond flour. Remove the pan from the fire and let it rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, press the six lemons (including the one used for the peel). Add the juice to the almond milk and strain through a finely meshed sieve. Press the remaining liquid from the almond flour. Pour the lemonade in a bottle or carafe with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for at least two hours. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century the lemonade would have been put in the coolest cellar or even in the ice cellar.
To serve
The lemonade is at its best when served cold. Stir the lemonade just before pouring. The lemonade can be kept in the refrigerator for two days. Great summer drink!
Bibliography
The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.
- Hand- of taafel-boekjen voor mevrouwen, juffers, en alle die gene, welke geneegen zyn tot het maaken van orangje tabletten en allerley zoo nieuw als bekend suiker-werk. Erven van Wed. van Egmond, Amsterdam, ca 1765. Available online.
Recipe for refreshing lemonade
This 18th-century lemonade is quick and easy to prepare and a treat on hot days.
© Author