"minute maid light" news and stories

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.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=694149&pid=694148&uts=1250801338

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

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

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

Low-cal alternative to cherry lemonade

COMMENTS 2

by Nicole Weston, Posted Sep 22nd 2006 @ 7:01AM

If you have ever seen a Hot Dog on A Stick, the first thing that you'll note is the wacky uniforms that their employees wear. If you venture closer, you'll see that their menu is simple and true to their name, with corndogs, french fries and lemonade. The concept is clearly to provide fair favorites in non-fair locations, such as malls. A corndog is a corndog, but their cherry lemonade is maddeningly addictive. Unfortunately a 12-oz. size packs in 160 calories, and people tend to order the larger 24-oz. and 32-oz. (410 calories) sizes to wash down their salty snacks.

The company fairly recently introduced sugar free lemonade to their stores, but it's just not the same. After all, it doesn't deliver that cherry punch. If you want a low-calorie alternative to the cherry version, try the Minute Maid Light Cherry Limeade, which manages to deliver that cherry taste with only 10 calories in a 12-ounce serving. The difference between lime and lemon flavors, especially in drinks that have additional levels of flavor, is minimal. And the best part is that you can pick up a 12-pack at the market for much less than you would spend at the restaurant itself.

Filed under: Raves & Reviews, Light Food, Drink Recipes, Fast Food