Blue Lemonade – Water for breaking the fast

Among the popular drinks for breaking the Ramadan fast is blue lemonade. I will share the recipe for a 'premium blue lemonade' or with a stronger lemon flavor using a secret technique. Usually blue lemonade is made using only lemon juice or cordial / lemon flavor.

The secret to making delicious lemon juice is that we use grated lemon peel or lemon rind. Lemon peel is rich in lemon flavored oil, but this oil is difficult for us to extract or squeeze. Decoction of lemon peel is also not very effective because strong heat will spoil the taste of lemon oil. Just take the yellow part of the rind only because the white lemon peel is very bitter. This technique will give an incredible lemon flavor and more taste very ‘premium’ but will take quite some time, but the result is well worth it!

To get lemon flavored oil we will use sugar. Sugar will pull out the lemon flavored oil through the process of Osmosis. The mixture of sugar and lemon zest will produce 'Oleo Saccharum’ or ‘Sugar Oil’. This technique has been used by cooks since the mid 17th century 17.

Ingredients

3 lemon
200g sugar
A little mint leaf
A little blue dye
1000ml water

Method

1. Grate the skin from 3 lemon . Make sure only the yellow part is grated because the white part tastes very bitter.
2. Add 200g of sugar to the lemon zest and mash. Leave covered for 2-24 jam so that the lemon flavored oil can be pulled out of the lemon peel.
3. Squeeze the juice from 3 lemons that have had the peels grated and set aside first.
4. After a few hours, put 500ml of water into the pot and add the sugar mixture and grated lemon.
5. Heat water over medium heat and stir until all the sugar is completely dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat immediately so that the lemon flavor is not damaged due to the temperature being too high.
6. Strain out the grated lemon peel and let cool.
7. Put the cooled lemon sugar water into a suitable jug. Add lemon juice. 500ml or 2 cups of cold water. A little blue dye. If you prefer a stronger blue color, add a little more dye. If you don't put it, you can leave it out. Depends on your preference.
8. Add the mint leaves, and lemon slices if desired as a garnish. Add ice and stir! Remember to Stir!! The sugar content and lemon juice can be modified according to your taste whether you like it sweeter or more sour.
9. Now the blue lemonade is ready to be served.