Lemonade, Amish Style

Let's be honest. The first thing that you thought of when you heard Lemons were being worked on was Lemonade. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing. However, had you not immediately thought of the honest, hard working Amish women working on some delightful Lemonade perhaps while the men are raising a barn, or driving a buggy or generally just doing things without the use of electricity, then you should be ashamed. Make this Lemonade and your shame will be lifted, not unlike that barn wall. The following is the Amish method of making Lemonade. It features a bright, full Lemon flavor that is far more round than the powdered variety you are used to.

A serrated knife is used to start breaking down the Lemons

The Lemons, halved with the tops and bottoms removed, ready to be sliced

Thinly sliced Lemon ready to go into the pot

The sliced Lemons covered in sugar, ready for their massage

The mashing /muddling begins

The mashing/muddling when finished

The resulting mush is then strained through a fine mesh strainer into a waiting pitcher

The strained lemon syrup is then mixed with cold water

General Notes
Time: 10 - 20 minutes, depends on your cutting speed and your muddling/mashing speed
Servings: 6 - 8 glasses of Lemonade
Notes: Adjust the amount of water and sugar to you personal taste

Equipment:
Cutting Board
Serrated Knife (preferred)
Pitcher
Fine Mesh Strainer
Potato Masher, or back of a spoon, or bottom of a ladle, child's clean feet, fists
Big Pot, pasta boiling pot or something that you can mash in and fits 12 Lemons cut up

Ingredients:
13 Lemons, any type will work
1 & 3/4 Cup Sugar
1 & 1/2 to 2 quarts (6-8 cups) cold Water

Written Instructions:

• Wash all of the lemons as you will be using the skin as well
• slice the tops and bottoms from 12 of the lemons, and halve them
• Thinly slice the lemons and add them into the big pot
• Add the sugar to the big pot
• Using the potato masher start mashing the lemons up with the sugar
• Keep going until the sugar has dissolved and you are left with a viscous syrup
• Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a waiting pitcher
• Gently press down on the mush each time to try and get as much syrup out as possible
• Then mix in the cold water and check the flavor
• Add fresh lemon juice if it needs some more acid, more sugar if it is too tart
• When the flavor is ready, make it happen in your tum tum