I found this recipe at the blog Brazilian Kitchen Abroad. I’ve spotted it online before and was intrigued. We never came across this lemonade in Brazil, but then, my drinks were probably all pisco sours! Drink like the locals, right?!

The author of this blog is Aline, pronounced ah-lee-knee, Brazilian born and raised, now living in Dallas, Texas.

According to her bio: “I’m a trained chef with a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, a published food photographer, a recipe developer, and a passionate culinary coach. After working in professional kitchens, running a catering business, and serving as a private chef, I founded Brazilian Kitchen Abroad to help people all over the world introduce delicious Brazilian flavors to their everyday cooking.”

Brazilian lemonade, is actually Brazilian limeade, made with fresh limes. According to Aline: “We call it lemonade because the word for lime in Portuguese is limão, so in Portuguese we call it limonada, which translates to lemonade.”

Brazilian Lemonade

5 limes
1/2 cup sweet condensed milk*
4 cups water**
ice

Slice 4 of the limes into 8 parts each, and add them to a blender.

Add the condensed milk and the water to the blender along with the limes and blend for no more than 15 seconds. The more you blend, the more bitter the limeade will turn out.

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the juice from the blender into a pitcher filled with ice.

Slice the remaining lime in half, and squeeze into the pitcher for an extra punch of lime flavor.

Stir and serve right away!

I followed the recipe exactly and the lemonade is slightly tart, but not unpleasantly so. It’s really a beautiful color. I think we’ll try some with rum later!

*You can add more condensed milk if you want your limeade a bit sweeter – some people even add a little sugar. It’s up to you!

**You can also add a little more water if you think the lime flavor is too strong – just remember you’ll be adding ice to the pitcher, and the ice will melt at some point.