Mint Lemonade | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Many shops stood in the street, and Dorothy saw that everything in them was green. Green candy and pop corn were offered for sale, as well as green shoes, green hats, and green clothes of all sorts. At once place a man was selling green lemonade, and when the children bought it Dorothy could see that they paid for it with green pennies.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
L. Frank Baum
My exposure to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz began with the film, like many I'm sure. In fact, I only read the book itself for the first time in the last few weeks, managing to devour it within a single night, a cup of tea being continually refilled as the night grew later. I was lucky enough to get a subscription this Christmas to The Novel Tea Book Club, and the first parcel I received was a delightfully themed trip down the yellow brick road. I'm eagerly anticipating the February book to arrive, enormously curious of what will be in the parcel.
There are an array of food stuffs within the pages of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that I could have attempted - I'm very much planning to attempt the four different types of cookies that Dorothy enjoys so much - but with summer in full swing, I couldn't go past the chance to make some homemade lemonade. with just a sprig of mint to give it that real Emerald City feel.
This lemonade recipe may look a little strange to Americans, and in all rights as the origins of the book is within America, I should have really stuck to a traditional recipe for it. However, I grew up with bubbly, carbonated lemonade and it's honestly just so much better. If you really aren't a fan, feel free to switch the sparkling water for still.
Mint Lemonade
Makes approx. 4 - 6 glasses
Ingredients
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup cold water
1 bunch of fresh mint
4 large lemons, juiced
1 - 2 bottles of sparkling water (dependant on how much lemonade you're making)
Ice
Make a simple sugar syrup by combining the sugar and cold water together, stirring well and leaving to sit for around 30 minutes until sugar dissolves.
For each glass of lemonade, place around 4 - 6 mint leaves in the bottom with a dash of the sugar syrup. Using a pestle (if you don't have one use the back of a spoon, works just as well), muddle the mint leaves well - they should be beginning to break up, with the smell of the mint coming out strongly.
Add around 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each glass (more or less depending on how strong you like it), with an additional tablespoon of sugar syrup before topping with the sparkling water and ice.
Add a few slices of lemon or sprigs of mint as a garnish and enjoy!