French Citron pressé (lemonade!)

 Lemon Bath (2)

While watching cooking shows, I am quick to take note of anything I might want to experiment with.

The French version of lemonade,

 pronounced Citron pressé = SIH-trone press-SAY,

 sounded really good, especially with all the crazy heat we were having in March!

I dropped my 2 lemons in boiling water for just 20 seconds or so, as they were not organic and I would be using the peels.

Peeling and julienning

After running the hot lemons under cold water to quickly chill, I peeled the lemons with my potato peeler. You want a bit more than the zest, but not the pith.

The potato peeler takes off just the right amount.

Then I julienned the peels.

 Sugar Bath

Put the julienned lemon peels in a saucepan with 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water.

Boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool.

Citron Presse in my 1.5 pint canning jar

Store the syrup in a glass jar in the fridge.

(I have had mine in the fridge for 2 months now and it is as fresh as when I first made it)

It makes me happy to see the bright yellow bits of lemon in my clear glass jar at the back of the fridge!

To serve:

Put 1 TBL of lemon syrup in a glass with a few ice cubes and a sprig of fresh mint.

Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Stir in cold water to taste.

Add more syrup if necessary.

This would be wonderful with club soda!

This is NOT an overly sweet lemonade...actually barely sweet at all...

When using just a tablespoon or so of the lemon syrup you are getting very little sugar, but lots of lemon flavor.

Next time I might add some julienned orange peel, or perhaps a bit of ginger?

In France, Citron pressé is made to order.

Nearly every cafe has it on their menu... 

A waiter brings you the freshly squeezed juice of a lemon, along with a pitcher of chilled water, a glass filled with ice, and some granulated sugar or sugar cubes.

You then proceed to make it as sweet/tart as you prefer. 

My personal preference is more tart than sweet.

I think the sweet is not nearly as thirst quenching, which is what I want on a hot summer day.

 Cleaning your cutting board

When you are done julienning your lemons, take 1/2 of a lemon and with a bit of coarse salt, rub it all over your cutting board, smooshing the salt and lemon into the board. 

Let sit for a few minutes, then rinse carefully.

This takes the smells out of your board and makes it fresh and sweet!

Au revoir,

Cindy