lemonade, Recipes, & Food News

Best Lemonade: Our Taste Test Results

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Sep 1st 2009 @ 4:49PM

We puckered our way through 70 cartons, bottles, and cans in search of the best store-bought brand of lemonade. Read on for results.

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Lemonade Taste Test

by AOL Food Editors
Our team of food editors shook, stirred, popped the top and puckered their way through 70 cartons, bottles, cans and pouches in search of the most thirst-quenching, soul-satisfying brand of store-bought lemonade. In the end, they selected several runners-up and a winner in each of seven categories: plastic bottle, can, juice box or pouch, powder, glass bottle and paper carton, as well as the best pink lemonade and the absolute best and worst overall. Read on for results and see how store brands can sometimes rule.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Lemonade Taste Test

by AOL Food Editors
Our team of food editors shook, stirred, popped the top and puckered their way through 70 cartons, bottles, cans and pouches in search of the most thirst-quenching, soul-satisfying brand of store-bought lemonade. In the end, they selected several runners-up and a winner in each of seven categories: plastic bottle, can, juice box or pouch, powder, glass bottle and paper carton, as well as the best pink lemonade and the absolute best and worst overall. Read on for results and see how store brands can sometimes rule.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Plastic Bottle
Tropicana Lemonade

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup
Calories per serving: 100
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Lemon strength: Medium
Our panel says: "More like lemon soda than lemonade, this was light and refreshing."

Learn more about Tropicana

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Plastic Bottle
Simply Lemonade

Sweetener: Natural Sugar
Calories per serving: 120
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Lemon strength: Medium
Our panel says: "It was balanced and non-sticky with a smooth, lime-like finish." "I tend to like the 'Simply' series -- orange juice, limeade, etc. -- and this does not disappoint."

Learn more about Simply

Rachel Been, AOL

Winner: Plastic Bottle:
Citarella Freshly Squeezed Lemonade

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar
Calories per serving: N/A
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 5
Lemon strength: Mild
Our panel says: "With notes of (unadvertised) coconut and lime, this was a tropical dream." "It's like a vacation in a bottle."

Learn more about Citarella Store brand

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Canned
Country Time Lemonade

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup
Calories per serving: 140
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Lemon Strength: Solid
Our panel says: "It's wonderfully bold and lemony, neither too tart or too sweet." "The finish is a little bit sticky, but the flavor makes up for it."

Learn more about Country Time

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Canned
Arizona Lemonade

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup
Calories per serving: 110
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 2
Lemon Strength:
Our panel says: "The flavor is just about perfect -- a wonderful balance of sweet and sour. Only drawback is the slightly sticky mouth feel, but just solve that by ditching the can and serving over ice." "Nicely balanced, assertive, no messing around."

Learn more about Arizona

Rachel Been, AOL

Winner: Canned
San Pellegrino Limonata

Sweetener: Sugar
Calories per serving: 141
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 2
Lemon Strength: Intense
Our panel says: "This is incredible front-porch lemonade -- if your front porch happens to sport marble columns with ivy growing up them. This is grown-up lemonade that's strong, clear, effervescent and utterly addictive."

Learn more about San Pellegrino

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Juice Box
Minute Maid Lemonade

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup
Calories per serving: 90
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 4
Lemon strength: Medium
Our panel says: "A refreshing small box for when you're on the go" "It wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be -- and that's a good thing."

Learn more about Minute Maid

Rachel Been, AOL

Winner: Juice Box
Hi-C Poppin' Lemonade

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup
Calories per serving: 100
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Lemon Strength: Mild
Our panel says: "A crowd shocker, it wasn't as sweet as the majority of juice boxes." "A well balanced drink."

Learn more about Hi-C

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Powdered
Crystal Light Lemonade

Sweetener: Aspartame
Calories per serving: 5
Tart (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Lemon Strength: Right up front
Our panel says: "This is the rarest of all creatures -- a low-calorie lemonade that doesn't have a nasty aftertaste! The taste that it does have is actually a really nice balance of tart and sweet."

Learn more about Crystal Light

Rachel Been, AOL

Filed under: Taste Test

Cherry Crush Lemonade

COMMENTS 1

by Jennifer Iserloh, Posted Jul 13th 2009 @ 1:00PM

Photo: The Skinny Chef

Lemonade fits the bill as a refreshing summertime drink while you're cooling at the pool, finishing lawn work, or just need a break. I love the way pink lemonade looks, but I don't want the unnecessary red food coloring or high fructose corn syrup that can be found in most commercial brands.

Blending in cherries makes your lemonade naturally flavorful, pretty and pink. I just bought a huge bag of the Bing variety, recalling the scene from 'The Witches of Eastwick' wherein Cher and friends are gobbling down fresh cherries while Jack Nicholson -- playing the Devil -- has to spit out the pits.

I don't mind them so much; they come out easily with a paring knife or an inexpensive cherry pitter.

Get Jennifer's Cherry Crush Lemonade recipe and learn about cherries' health benefits after the jump.

Filed under: The Skinny Chef

Smoked Lemonade and Other Summertime Libations

COMMENTS 4

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Jun 9th 2009 @ 3:00PM

I'm stingy with my smoke.

Not in a "don't bogart that can, man" way. Just that if I'm going to go to all the trouble of stoking a hardwood lump charcoal fire, obsessively monitoring its low-'n-slow-ness for a goodly chunk of the day, feeding its greedy gut with beer-soaked mesquite and hickory chunks at half-hour intervals all for the sake of an albeit fabulous brisket or pork shoulder, I'm gonna want a bit more return on the investment.

Here's where foil pans of salt, cherries and lemons come in.

Filed under: Guilty Pleasures, Drink Recipes, How To

How do you keep cool in the summer?

COMMENTS 9

by Bob Sassone, Posted Jun 10th 2008 @ 11:05AM

Julep Iced Tea

Of course, I'm not talking about the ways you try to keep cool in general, such as cranking the AC, jumping into a pool, or going to the beach. I'm talking about liquid refreshment.

There are many schools of thought on this. My mom used to drink hot coffee in June, July, and August, going by the old theory that drinking hot liquids in hot months actually cools you down. I myself like iced tea and ice cold water during the summer, with some diet soda and icy Ocean Spray Light Ruby Red here and there too. Others seem to like beer and cocktails, though I really doubt their effectiveness (beyond the initial hit of cold liquid going down).

After the jump, give us your liquid solutions for the summer. Besides the drinks above, I'm thinking about asking the owner of the liquor store down the street if I can live in his giant walk in fridge for the summer..

Filed under: Drink Recipes

Tip of the Day: Don't let squeezing lemons be a pain

COMMENTS 2

by Alanna Kaufman, Posted Jun 6th 2008 @ 6:00AM

There are some kitchen tasks we all dread -- cutting onions, pulling out the insides of a chicken, and for many of us, squeezing lemons and limes. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your lemons, and for getting most of your lemon juice into your bowl, not on your fingers.

Filed under: Tip of the Day, Ingredients