Let’s get right down to it: this is limeade. Why is it called lemonade, then? It’s a Brazilian recipe, and Brazil speaks Portuguese. In Portuguese, the word for lemon and the word for lime are the same: limão.
What makes the recipe Brazilian? Other than coming from Brazil, it’s mostly the inclusion of condensed milk. Brazilians love their condensed milk, and use it in all kinds of places. It’s one of their go-to sweeteners the way we use sugar. After trying a few Brazilian recipes and uses of condensed milk, I have to say, I’m starting to think they’re onto something.
You can blame Nestle for that one. Nestle brought condensed milk to Brazil during wartime shortages, and its use caught on as a culinary tradition. In fact, another name for Brazilian Lemonade is Swiss Lemonade, because the condensed milk from Nestle (a Swiss company) was often just called Swiss Milk.
There’s also a bit of a trick to this recipe. The traditional way to make it is to blend up whole limes, peel and all, alongside the other ingredients. The end result, once strained, is definitely a sweet lime flavor, but it has a bitterness to it that’s hard to avoid. It also heavily depends on how thick the peel is on the limes; the thicker the peel the more bitter it will be.
What’s the trick? Well, if you believe Reddit, most people in Brazil don’t actually make it this way, because that bitterness is too much. They just juice the limes and use that. Maybe add some lime zest as well, if you like.
I made it the traditional way, and I have to say, it wasn’t bad. Yes, it had some bitterness to it, but it was fairly minor. Maybe I got lucky with my limes, they did have fairly thin skins, but who can say. If you don’t want to take that chance, just use lime juice instead.
Brazilian Lemonade (Limeade)
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 Limes Try to get ones with smooth, thin skins.
- 3 Cups Water
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 3 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
Instructions
- Cut the thick end part of the limes off and cut them into quarters.
- Add the all of the ingredients to your blender. Pulse ~5 times for 2-3 seconds each. You're not going for a full blend, but you want to thoroughly juice the limes and mix all the flavors together.
- Pour your mix through a strainer to remove pulp. Either store in a pitcher or pour over ice and enjoy immediately.