RED CLOVER LEMONADE
The beautiful flowers of red clover (Trifolium pratense) are slightly sweet, and many of us will have enjoyed them in clover honey. They are also packed with nutrients, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin C. Red clover has been used in tea form for many years to alleviate the symptoms of gout. This lemonade is a quick and easy recipe that leaves you with a very pretty, delicately-flavoured sweet drink — think sweet hay.
Coumarin, the slightly vanilla-flavored phytochemical present in red clover, has antifungal and antitumor properties, but it also thins the blood, so people taking anticoagulants for health reasons should not consume red clover in large quantities. Many menopausal women take red clover because it’s a source of isoflavones, which act like oestrogen (the hormone reduced during menopause).
MAKE IT!
Glass: Collins (x 6) Serves 6 (approximately 1 quart/1 litre) 3 cups (750ml) water Approximately 40 red
clover blossoms
1 cup (250ml) freshly
squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp (50ml) honey, preferably raw, set or runny
Soda water
Small nonreactive pan, fine-mesh strainer and muslin/cheesecloth or coffee filter, wooden spoon
Ice cubes
Method:
1. Bring the water to a slow boil in a nonreactive pan, add the clover blossoms, and gently simmer for five minutes. Finestrain the liquid into the wide-mouthed pitcher, removing the blossoms, and return to the cleaned pan over a low heat. Add the lemon juice and honey, and stir to dissolve the honey. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and pour the lemonade into the cleaned pitcher. Chill for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
2. To serve, fill the 6 glasses with ice. Pour the lemonade three-quarters of way up each one. Garnish with red clover blossoms. Top with water and serve immediately.