New ways with lemonade

It’s a great summer drink with plenty of twists and variations.

In the summer, it’s easy to find a quality glass of mouth-puckering, fresh-squeezed lemonade.

In her new book “Lemonade With Zest” (Chronicle Books, $16.95), author April White explores the many sides of lemonade. True, lemonade isn’t complicated. It’s just lemon, sugar and water. But, as White points out, each of those ingredients requires a decision. Which lemon? Which sweetener? Which water? They all make a difference.

There are ways for lemonade devotees to go further, to add new dimension and nuance to the classic drink. Combine cof-

fee with tart lemon juice to mimic the mazagran of Algeria and Portugal. Swap lemons for limes and add coconut milk for a frothy Colombian limonada de coco. Blend in an egg white for a foamy head, Argentinian-style.

Things heat up when you make a Persian sharbat by boiling sugar with lemon juice and green cardamom pods. The beauty of this brightly colored syrup with spicy, herbal notes is that you can stash the thick, sweet stuff in the fridge, adding a few tablespoons each time thirst strikes.

If you’re looking for ways to impress the poolside crowd, these alt-lemonade sippers will please kids of all ages.

CARDAMOM SHARBAT

1 tablespoon green

cardamom pods

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)

1 cup granulated sugar Cold still or sparkling water

With the flat side of a knife, crush the cardamom pods to reveal the black seeds inside. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the cardamom pods and seeds, lemon juice and sugar to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to maintain a rapid simmer for 10 minutes. Don’t allow the mixture to boil. After 10 minutes, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the liquid and discarding the solids. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold and syrupy.

Fill a glass with still or sparkling water. Stir in 1 tablespoon sharbat for each 1 cup water. Some syrup will settle at the bottom of the glass, so serve it with a spoon to allow for continued stirring or consider the last sip a sweet treat.

Serves 6 to 8

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS BY GENTL & HYERS Sharbats combine sweet boiled fruit syrups with cold, still or sparkling water. In this sharbat version published in “Lemonade With Zest” by April White (Chronicle Books, 2018), green cardamom pods recall the drink’s Persian origins.

CONTRIBUTED BY GENTL & HYERS A touch of orange blossom water gives Batroun Lemonade a surprise burst of floral flavor. Orange blossom water is a common flavoring for lemonade in the Lebanese city of Batroun, writes April White in her cookbook “Lemonade With Zest: 40 Thirst-Quenching Recipes” (Chronicle Books, 2018).