{"id":1375,"date":"2007-11-11T11:21:49","date_gmt":"2007-11-11T10:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=1375\/"},"modified":"2019-12-09T10:28:55","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T09:28:55","slug":"lemonade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/lemonade\/","title":{"rendered":"Lemonade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Een French recipe from the seventeenth century<\/h2>\n

Straight to the recipe<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A very simple recipe, because I am in the middle of moving house (summer 2007), and have been very busy.<\/p>\n

Where does the word lemonade<\/em> come from?<\/h3>\n

Lemonade<\/em>\u00a0comes from ‘lemon’ or the French ‘limon’. Another French word for lemon is citron<\/em>, which is the English word for another fruit of the citrus family, the Citrus medica<\/em>. When carbonized water is used in the seventeenth-century recipe below instead of plain water, the result is something like modern soft drink.<\/p>\n

A fad for the rich<\/h3>\n

Fresh lemonade is easy to make, and citrus fruit is easily available now. But in the past citrus fruit were extremely expensive, and lemonade was something special, not just a drink for children. The recipe I used can be found in a seventeenth century French cookbook, in a chapter on digestives and mulled wines.\u00a0<\/span>The picture above shows the Orangery<\/em> of Versailles. Orangeries were named after the orange. They were the newest fad for the rich in the seventeenth century; greenhouses to let all kinds of exotic plants (like citrus trees) hibernate. In the summer the potted plants were wheeled outside to decorate the intricate formal gardens and serve as background for elaborate parties.<\/p>\n

The original recipe<\/h2>\n

The recipe can be found in\u00a0Le Confiturier Fran\u00e7ois<\/em>\u00a0(English edition by Scully p.494, see\u00a0bibliography<\/a>). The\u00a0Confiturier<\/em>\u00a0was published anonymously 1660 (Scully p.106 note 155). There is only one impression, in 1667, that names La Varenne as author. According to Terence Scully it is by no means certain that La Varenne is the author, but at the very least he had inspired the person who wrote the\u00a0Confiturier<\/em>. The full title of the\u00a0Confiturier<\/em>\u00a0is:\u00a0Le Confiturier Fran\u00e7ois; ou La mani\u00e8re de faire toutes sortes de Confitures, Liqueurs, & Breuvages agreables<\/em>. Two other cookbooks that are certainly written by La Varenne are\u00a0Le cuisinier Fran\u00e7ois<\/em>\u00a0(1651) and\u00a0Le Patissier Fran\u00e7ois<\/em>\u00a0(1653). Together, these three books have been translated into English by Scully. (more on Fran\u00e7ois Pierre La Varenne<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"TheLemonade.
\nGet a pint of water and into it put half a pound of sugar, the juice of six lemons and two oranges, the peel of half a lemon and [half] an orange that you have pressed; blend the water well in two very clean vessels, pouring it back and forth several times from one into the other, and strain it through a white serviette.
\n(Translation by T. Scully)<\/p>\n

<\/a>Modern adaptation of the recipe<\/h2>\n

The difference with modern lemonade is that the fruit juice for the seventh-century version is ‘raw’,\u00a0uncooked. Even the sugar is not dissolved in the water by cooking. And we regulate the acidity of modern lemonade and soft drinks by adding citric acid. Originally this was an organic acid from citrus fruit, but now it is mostly obtained from sugar with the use of certain moulds. Its function is, apart from improving flavour, prolonging the shelf life of the products in which it is used. When I made this\u00a0limonade<\/em>with the original amounts (4 dl\/1.75 cup fruit juice, 6 dl\/2.5 cup water or sparkling water and half a pound of sugar), the lemonade was too sweet for me. So in my adaptation I use a lot more water and I have also added citric acid. The resulting lemonade is refreshing and fruity, but still sweet enough.
\nFor 2 liters<\/span>;\u00a0preparation in advance<\/em> 5 minutes<\/span><\/span>;\u00a0preparation<\/em> 20 minutes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"Lemonade6\u00a0lemons<\/span>
\n2\u00a0oranges<\/span>
\n1.5 litre (6 cups)\u00a0water<\/span>\u00a0or sparkling water
\n225 gram (2\u00bc cup) icing\u00a0sugar
\n1 tsp citric acid<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Pour boiling water over one lemon and one orange, to melt the layer of wax (this applies also to organic fruit). Grate the peel of half the lemon and half the orange (or of the whole orange, La Varenne is unclear).<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Squeeze the citrus fruit, be careful with the peeled lemon and orange (or grate them after squeezing). Add water, sugar and peel. Instead of pouring the mixture from one vessel into another, you can also pour it in a shaker and shake. Pour the lemonade through a cloth or paper towel. Keep refrigerated.
\nAs an alternative, you can keep the fruit juice and peel, sugar and citric acid separately, and add (sparkling) water to a part of it just before serving. For 2 cups or a half litre water, use about 0.6 cup of the fruit juice-mixture. This mixture will keep for two days in the refrigerator, in a well closed container.<\/p>\n

\"ATo serve<\/h3>\n

Serve chilled.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Citric acid<\/h4>\n

This is a weak organic acid that can be found in citrus fruit, but it is also present in other fruits and vegetables. In Europe the industrial name is E330; it is one of the safest food additions. Citric is being sold in the form of white crystals that look a lot like sugar. So store it with a clear label and out of children’s reach. In its pure form citric acid can cause irritation of skin and eyes. Overconsumption can cause deterioration of teeth. This warning is not because of the use of citric acid in this seventeenth-century recipe, but its presence in industrial soft drinks that are consumed in great quantities by too many people. By the way, citric acid is not just used in food; it is also present in food supplements, washing detergents and cleaning products and effervescent tablets. It is completely biological\u00a0\u00a0degredable and does not cause harm for the environment.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Citrus fruit<\/h3>\n

These belong to the citrus family that originates in the East, from China and North-East India to Australia (because the citrus family is so ancient that it was already in existence when Australia and Asia were part of the same continent). Citrus fruit are attractive because of their exuberant colours (bright green, yellow and orange), they carry in them a combination of bitter, sweet and sour, and their skin is very aromatic because of the oil just below the surface (in the ‘pores’). That typical citrus smell is hardly noticeable if you sniff an orange in the store. To keep their freshness citrus fruit -even the organic ones- are treated with a thin layer of wax. That is not harmful, and when you just want to eat the flesh or use their juice you can totally ignore it. But when you want to use the skin for peels you’ll have to remove the wax first. Since wax melts when heated, all you have to do is pour boiling (or hot) water over the fruit. The wax will melt away. Rinse the fruit, pat it dry, and you will be overwhelmed by the lovely scent!
\nThere are many kinds of citrus fruit, but according to\u00a0Harold McGee\u00a0(On food and cooking<\/em>) only three of those are the ancestors of all others,\u00a0citron<\/b>(Citrus medica<\/em>) which is used for candied peel,\u00a0mandarin\u00a0<\/b>(Citrus reticulata<\/em>) and\u00a0pummelo<\/b> (Citrus grandis\u00a0<\/em>of\u00a0maxima<\/em>). But if I’m reading my sources\u00a0Davidson\u00a0and McGee correctly, there is a fourth ancestor,\u00a0lime<\/b>\u00a0(Citrus aurantifolia<\/em>). At least, I can’t find the combination of the three ‘arch-citruses’ that would have resulted in the mandarin. But\u00a0lemons\u00a0<\/b>came into existence in two stadia: a hybrid of citron and lime then combined with pummelo.
\nThe origin of\u00a0oranges<\/b>\u00a0is also muddy. Bitter or\u00a0sour orange\u00a0<\/b>(Citrus aurantium<\/em>) seems to have no ancestry, all I can find is “[they] come from a different species than the kinds described above\u00a0[i.e. sweet oranges, C.M.]<\/em>” (McGee<\/em>\u00a01994 p.376),\u00a0sweet orange\u00a0<\/b>(Citrus sinensis<\/em>) is a hybrid of mandarin and pummelo. But why both are called ‘orange’ remains in the dark. Maybe because they’re both about the same size and … well … orange.
\nLemonade<\/b>\u00a0is made with sweet oranges. These were still a novelty in seventeenth century Europe, the first mention dates from the end of the fifteenth century. Bitter or sour oranges were already harvested on Sicily in the eleventh century. By the way, sour oranges are seasonal fruit; you can only buy them in winter (January\/February). Marmelade is made with sour oranges.
\nTo use the peel<\/b>: first remove the wax layer as described above. You can use a fine grater, or a lemon zester. But if you ever need larger pieces of peel, you can best use a flexible knife. Place the skin white side up on a cutting board, let the knife rest with its tip on the board near the skin, and cut away as much of the white as you can. With some practice you can end up with several square centimeters of peel without a trace of white left on it. This can be used to cut out figures for decoration.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bibliography<\/h2>\n

The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.<\/p>\n