When I found this simple and easy recipe for vanilla lemonade, I decided to make a few tweaks. Her recipe called for some vanilla extract and for regular lemons. I decided to go with sweeter Meyer lemons, as I had a spare bushel of them lying around, and since I still have insane numbers of vanilla beans, I went with that for a purer flavor.I used one of the beans from my "Used Vanilla" jar, vanilla can be used more than once so after use, I just wash the bean off, let it dry, and pop it in a jar. Each bean can get about 5 good uses out of it. After that I just pop it into a jar of sugar for vanilla sugar. Fresh vanilla is fine too, but this is a great recipe for old beans.
This recipe is fast and straightforward with a lot of payoff in the end. Sweet and sour lemonade with a refreshing taste of vanilla in the background. Perfectly delicious all year round.
Vanilla Meyer LemonadeWhat You'll Need...
1 cup of Meyer, or regular, lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
water
What You'll Do...
1) Juice the lemons for the juice, being sure to strain out pulp and seeds. Add 4 cups of water and stir.
2) Combine the sugar, vanilla bean, and 1/2 cup of water into a saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Pluck out the vanilla bean, wash it and dry it, then store for future use. let the vanilla simple syrup cool and then pour and mix into the lemonade.
3) Chill and serve over ice.
Where can I get Meyer lemons?? I've been keeping my eyes peeled at Safeway and Whole Foods, but I never see them. Am I going to have to go all the way downtown to the SF Ferry Building? Help!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds amazing! I've never even considered putting vanilla in lemonade...
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I just came online to find a recipe for lemons and saw your recipe. I'll be using regular lemons from my trees so maybe I'll add a bit more sugar.
ReplyDeleteNow that's a great way to use up a lot of lemons!
ReplyDeleteKatie - I think farmers markets are your best bet. =)
ReplyDeleteI still haven't tried meyer lemons, yet I always hear so much about them. This might be a great recipe to start with.
ReplyDeleteKatie - farmer's markets or find a neighbor with a tree that has more lemons than they can use! Lots of people have Meyer lemon trees for decorative purposes that produce a lot of lemons that never get used.
ReplyDeleteFunny, a couple hours ago I added some vanilla vodka to some meyer lemonade that I'd just made... Yum!
ReplyDeleteSounds great, and I'll keep my eyes peeled (pardon pun) for the Meyer lemons, o'wise try using the regular lemons - still the idea of vanilla and lemonade sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI made this as soon as I read your post on it....A lil sour for my taste...I'd add a touch more vanilla simple syrup next time, but really tasty just the same. Good with a splash of vodka
ReplyDeleteI found some at a fancy independent grocery store! But also, my mom has a lemon tree- but I am pretty sure they are regular lemons. I will do a comparison taste test this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I've been wondering what to do with all the wonderful Meyer lemons that are available now---though I'm not lucky enough to have a whole bushel! :D
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