Maple comes to ade of lime
On balmy summer days, you’ll find me on the porch pouring a tall glass of maple limeade. Lemonade is a classic, but limeade delivers a pleasantly less puckering punch. Paired with earthy and sweet maple syrup, limeade is the sweet-tart thirst quencher you’ll reach for this summer too.
Freshly squeezed lime juice, filtered water and maple syrup come together to create the magical beverage.
The one thing that holds me back from mixing up a pitcher of limeade each week is the thought of juicing so many limes. But if you shop smart and fill your cart with the best ones, you won’t have to juice as many.
Here’s how to choose: Place a lime in the palm of each hand and hold them gently. Close your eyes (it sounds silly, but it helps!), and let yourself feel the weight of the limes. One is heavier than the other, isn’t it? Put the heavy one in your basket and repeat until you have 10 limes. Don’t go for the larger limes by default — you may be fooled by a thick layer of pith. Choosing limes that feel heavy for their size is an almost foolproof way to pick fruit packed with juice.
Best sweetener: Classic summer ’ades are sweetened with simple syrup, a mixture of water and sugar. Making simple syrup is a cinch, but it still requires heating the water to dissolve the sugar. When summer rolls around, I’m all about finding alternatives to turning on the stove, so I reach for the sweet syrup that’s already in my fridge: maple syrup. Maple syrup has an earthy, sweet flavor that pairs so well with limes.
Final tip: A pinch of kosher salt highlights the caramel flavor of the maple syrup, making this drink more than just a lip-puckering punch.