The searingly hot summer days in Fethiye are upon us and, thankfully, there is a fabulously cooling, refreshing drink to help us through: Homemade Turkish lemonade; or limonata as it’s called, here.
Not THAT Sort Of Lemonade
For many British people, lemonade is that clear fizzy drink that comes in a can or a bottle.
And it’s usually enjoyed either on its own or as a mixer for spirits and liqueurs. Not forgetting, of course, when it is mixed with beer to make a shandy.
In Turkey, if you want that particular fizzy drink, you need to ask for a gazoz. Or the very famous brand name that rhymes with spite.
Especially away from the main tourist hubs, ask for a lemonade and your waiter is going to deliver you a lovely, fresh limonata.
It’s not so long ago that shandy wasn’t so well known here in Fethiye.
Oh how we chuckled when our visiting friend asked for one and explained to the confused waiter that she wanted beer and lemonade mixed. You can see what’s coming, can’t you?
He promptly returned with a half glass of beer. And, before she could stop him, poured a glass of limonata into the beer.
Can’t say we’d recommend that!
But THIS Turkish Lemonade – Limonata
But let’s get back to real homemade Turkish lemonade. Such a welcome relief on hot days.
The one in this photo was from when we were in Selimiye on the Bozburun Peninsula.
A mini heatwave had descended upon us. Then we spotted a small lokanta with a board outside that was also advertising their homemade lemonade.
The perfect cold drink for two wanderers wilting in the hot weather.
Whilst the son proudly explained how his mum made her limonata, the soft drinks were downed in one. And another one promptly ordered!
As an aside, the food was just as good as the lemony cold drinks!
How To Make Homemade Turkish Lemonade
There’s no shortage of citrus trees in Turkey; lemon trees included.
And we happen to live in an area that has an abundance of groves. Nearby Köyceğiz has roadside stalls where you can buy citrus fruits by the bagful.
Fresh Lemons
We’re also lucky to have a couple of lemon trees in the garden on our site. So it’s easy for us to get our hands on oodles of fresh lemons.
And you do need fresh lemon for this homemade lemonade recipe.
As well as some sugar, cold water, ice cubes and a sprig of mint.
Sweet Or Sour?
And there is no right or wrong when it comes to how much sugar or water you use for your drink.
It’s all down to personal taste and how sour your lemons are. Do you want a sweet lemonade or do you want a slightly more sour flavour?
Lemon Zest As Well As Lemon Juice
As well as juicing our lemons, we also use the fine edge of a grater to get some of the zest and lemon rind from the lemons.
This gives us a more zesty, lemony flavour for our Turkish lemonade.
After zesting them, we juice them.
We use roughly a kilo and this gives us around 300 millilitres of lemon juice.
Tip: If you’re in Turkey and buying lemons from the local markets (the pazar), look for the stalls that are advertising their lemons as ‘bol sulu’ – this means they are very juicy, therefore giving you more Turkish lemonade for your money!
Then we mix around 40 grams of sugar into this and then it’s the waiting period…
Our Homemade Turkish Lemonade Base
We like to put this concentrated lemon mixture into the fridge for at least a couple of hours – or better still, until the next day – to let the flavours infuse and to give the sugar chance to dissolve.
It also gives us a chance to test if there’s enough sugar at that point.
Turkish lemons tend not to be very sour, and we don’t have a sweet tooth, so we’re careful with the sugar.
This is our base limonata.
And then when we want to drink some, we give it a good stir and pour a little of this into a glass.
Top up with cold water to taste, add some ice cubes and fresh mint leaves – delicious!
A perfect summer drink!
Tip: Barry likes to leave all the bits of lemon zest and rind in his Turkish lemonade. If you want a smooth limonata – like mine in the photos – pour it through a sieve over your glass. Then give all the bits in the sieve an extra squeeze for max lemon flavour.
Our Homemade Turkish Lemonade Recipe – Limonata
Homemade Turkish Lemonade Recipe – Limonata
Equipment
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 grater
- 1 juicer
- 1 jug (to store your lemon juice mixture)
- 1 sieve
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram fresh lemons
- 40 grams white granulated sugar
- 1 sprig fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- First of all, use a fine grater to grate the lemon zest and rind from your lemons.
- Now slice your lemons in half and squeeze as much juice as possible from each one.
- Add the juice, zest and any rind to a jug followed by your sugar. Depending on how juicy your lemons are, you will have around 300 millilitres of juice.
- Stir the mixture well and then refrigerate for at least two hours, stirring occasionally, until well chilled and the sugar is dissolved.
- When you are ready to serve, pour some of your lemon juice into a glass and top up with cold water to taste.
- Add ice cubes and fresh mint leaves for maximum enjoyment.
Notes
- How much Turkish lemonade your lemons will make will depend on how juicy they are, how sour they are and how strong or weak you want your limonata drink to be.
- Turkish lemons are not particularly sour so we don’t add too much sugar.
- 1 kilogram of lemons generally gives us around 300 millilitres of lemon juice. When it is time to serve our limonata, we tend to do four parts water to one part lemon juice.
- You can make your Turkish lemonade to your own taste.