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Easy recipe for Hindu fermented lemonade, a lightly cultured traditional beverage to add probiotics and enzymes to any meal.
For those of you who are wanting to take the leap and start adding a daily probiotic element to your whole foods diet, this recipe for fermented lemonade, also called Hindu lemonade, is an all-time favorite of traditional foodies.
It is as easy as it is delicious, pleasing both child and parent alike.
This type of healthy beverage is also the answer to those sugar-laden, juice boxes that most kids have packed in their school lunches every day. Worse, that sugar is frequently a juice blend with added GMO high fructose corn syrup.
Even a 100% juice box is still just sugar in the final analysis. Once you pasteurize fresh juice, the nutrition is long gone and all that remains is obesity-promoting fructose and a sugar spike/crash for the child. Not the best choice for school lunch by any means!
How to Make Hindu Lemonade
Packing this homemade fermented lemonade, on the other hand, is a nice treat that will delight, nourish, and strengthen your childโs immune system.
Fresh whole milk a great choice for a school lunch (when the kids were young, I usually packed a thermos of cold, fresh milk โฆ sometimes I packed sipping bone broth too), but when you have run out temporarily or just want to pack a juice treat, this is a great choice.
Note that using freshly squeezed lemon juice produces the most reliable results. Using pasteurized store juice does work, but you run the risk of mold.
Why is this? Store lemon juice is pasteurized, which eliminates the natural probiotics and enzymes that faciliate the fermentation to โtakeโ properly.
Fermented Lemonade Recipe
Easy recipe for fermented lemonade that will no doubt be one of your familyโs favorites as it is rich in flavor and probiotics.
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium lemons or 1- 1.5 cups of lemon juice (preferably fresh squeezed)
- 1/2 cup sucanat
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg preferably organic
- 2 quarts filtered water
- 1/2 cup liquid whey
- vegetable starter optional. Use if you prefer dairy free starter.
Instructions
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Mix all ingredients together in a 1 gallon glass jug.ย
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Cover and leave on the counter for 2 days and then transfer to the refrigerator.ย
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The lemonade flavor improves over time, but is drinkable immediately after the 2 day fermentation period.
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If it is too tart compared with the overly sweet lemonades from the store, mix 1 or 2 drops plain liquid stevia to each glass until your family adjusts to the mildly sweet/sour flavor.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Limes or a combination of lemons and limes may be substituted for the lemons. The juice must be freshly squeezed.
Reference
More Information
Switchel: Natureโs Healthy Gatorade
How to Make Orangina (Fermented Orange Juice)
How to Make Ginger Ale
Brew Your Own Healthy and Traditional Root Beer
I am currently breastfeeding and my son seems to get very uncomfortable if I eat any dairy products (even yogurts, raw, etc.) so I’ve cut them out of my diet for the time being. Is there anything else one can use to ferment this and other recipes that require whey that are dairy free?
Hi Ashley, you can empty 1 probiotic capsule into the lemonade to ferment it if you want to skip the whey.
How many billions of bacteria does the probiotic capsule need to have?
Making this right now! I finally got a hook up on some whey! (MN we cannot easily or legally buy raw milk unless you own the cow or own part of it- which I am looking into.) I am excited beyong beleif I have a list of things I need to do with this little amount.
Mine just finished its 2 days on the counter. Was it supposed to be noticeably foamy or anything? There was a little bit of foaminess yesterday but not much. I’m just wondering if it’s OK.
I’m sure it’s fine. If your counter/kitchen is quite cold (less than 70F) you may wish to leave it one more day.
hi sarah, its been two days, but no bubbles have appreared in the lemonade. i have fermented vegetables before and within a day bubbles start forming…..should i wait for one more day? please reply
How long does the lemonade last in the fridge? I drank one bottle I made, but haven’t gotten around to the other two. There is now gray cloudy “stuff” that has settled to the bottom…
Hi Stephanie, it easily lasts several months in the refrigerator. Just stir it up and it will be fine to drink. The flavor improves over time anyway so you will find the older bottle will taste even better!
hi Sarah, just wondering, if say I add sugar or honey in the lemonade in a plastic bottle and then chill it. Can it also last for a few months?
Aaron
No, it will not.
Hi Stephanie, either one would work great!
Is it possible to use rapadura? and what exactly is the difference of rapadura and sucanat?
So glad I saw this post! I bought 12 lemons to use as decoration for my daughters 1st birthday party and was planning to make lemonade with them, so excited no!
I have just been referred to your site by a colleauge. I love what you are doing, and am learning a lot from you. Thank you! A comment on your video presentations though, this is meant to be constructive criticism. They need polish. Slow, pedantic, you talk down to your audience by stating what is obvious and you repeat almost every point more than once. Most of the information you're sharing could be presented in much less time with much more impact. Your viewers could take twice as much in. Remember we can always watch it again if we have to, no need to hammer every point in. I'd love to see your videos get better, as its great info you are sharing.
Hi Joy, thaw out your frozen juice and use about 2 cups worth.
Jennifer, whey lasts about 6 months in the fridge. I cover the lemonade with a lid on the jar while it is fermenting.
I tried the fermented lemonade. We absolutely love it!! My whey only lasted about a month in the fridge and it developed mold. Can whey be stored in the freezer?
No, use liquid whey or a couple of probiotic capsules like BioKult (empty the powder into the liquid and mix in)
Can you use a SCOBY or perhaps homemade kefir to make this? It's looks delicious!
I also thought this. I wonder what a scoby would do? It would eat the sugar but not sure if it needs the caffeine from the tea or coffee.