Brazilian lemonade is actually Brazilian limeade, made with fresh limes. The Portuguese word for lime is limão, so in Portuguese it’s limonada, lemonade.
There are a few different versions of this Brazilian lime drink, all of which feature fresh limes, but involve a different way of juicing and sweetening them. You can make limonada with freshly squeezed lime juice, or you can use whole limes, rind and all, and blend it all together to juice it. Then, sweeten with sugar, condensed milk or sometimes both!
According to a Brazilian gastronomy instructor in an interview with G1 Brazilian news site, “Some say a Swiss restaurant owner invented the drink. Some say the recipe was invented in a Swiss hospitality school. And lastly, there are sources that claim that the English actually came up with this recipe that blends the lime skins”.
Ingredients
- 5 limes
- ½ c. sweet condensed milk * (or Nestlé La Lechera, which is easier to find here)
- 4 c. water **
- ice
Instructions
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slice 4 of the limes into 8 parts each and put into a blender
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add the condensed milk and the water, and blend for no more than 15 seconds (The more you blend, the bitterer the limeade will turn out!)
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using a fine mesh strainer, strain the juice from the blender into a pitcher filled with ice
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slice the remaining lime in half, and squeeze into the pitcher for an extra punch of lime flavor
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Stir and serve right away!
* You can add more condensed milk if you want your limeade a bit sweeter – some people even add a little sugar. It’s up to you!
** Or you can add a little more water if you think the lime flavor is too strong — just remember you’ll be adding ice to the pitcher which will melt at some point.
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