Limes blended whole, peel and all, with water and sugar and then strained. The peel is what gives it its edge, and it has to be drunk soon after or it turns bitter.
The whole lime goes in
This is not lemonade made from juice. Two limes are quartered, the seeds taken out, and the whole thing goes into the blender with the peel still on.
The recipe's own note addresses the obvious objection: you might think the peel will make it bitter, and it does, and that bitterness is what the drink is for. It is what separates a limonada made this way from squeezed juice and water.
It is also why the second method exists on the same page, for anyone who wants the milder version.
Thirty seconds, then strain
Both numbers matter and both are easy to get wrong.
Thirty seconds is enough to break the fruit up and pull the oils out of the peel. Beyond that the peel keeps disintegrating and the bitterness goes from an edge to the whole drink.
Then strain immediately. Leaving the pieces sitting in the water does slowly what over-blending does quickly, which is why the recipe insists on drinking it soon after making it.
Take the seeds out
The ingredient note says seedless and it is not optional. Lime seeds are bitter in a harsh, lingering way that the peel is not, and thirty seconds in a blender shatters them completely.
Quartering the limes first makes them easy to flick out with a knife point.
Two methods, two drinks
The blender version is sharp, cloudy and slightly bitter, and it has to be drunk within the hour.
The squeezed version is clear, mild and keeps in the fridge. It is what most people mean by lemonade.
Same ingredients, and they do not taste alike at all.
More cold drinks
- Coconut lemonade — the creamy one from the coast.
- Orange juice — squeezed, no blender.
- Tree tomato juice — tomate de árbol.
- Coffee granizado — when it is really hot.
Limonada FAQ
Lime. In Colombia limón means lime, and that is what a limonada is made with. Lemon works and gives a rounder, less sharp drink.
Because the peel is what gives this version its bitter edge, which the recipe's own note says is the point of it. Juice alone makes a milder, more ordinary lemonade.
Because the peel keeps giving up bitterness the longer it is broken down. Thirty seconds gives an edge; a minute gives a drink nobody wants.
Yes, immediately. Pieces of peel left sitting in the liquid carry on releasing bitterness even out of the blender.
Lime seeds are properly bitter in a way the peel is not, and a blender shatters them. The ingredient note says seedless for that reason.
The same reason it tastes good in the first place. The compounds in the peel keep dissolving into the water, and what is pleasant at ten minutes is not at an hour.
Squeeze the limes, mix the juice with the water and sugar, and serve over ice. Milder, no peel, and it keeps far longer.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 limes (limón in Colombia: quartered, seeds removed, peel left on)
- 8 cups water (four for the blender, four to top up)
- Sugar (to taste)
- Ice cubes
Notas
Instructions
Blender Lemonade
- Put 4 cups of water in the blender with the limes, quartered and with the peel on, and sugar to taste.
- Blend for about 30 seconds and pass it through a strainer to take out the pieces of peel and pulp.
- Add the other 4 cups of water, stir well and serve over ice.
Lemonade without a blender
- Squeeze the limes, with a squeezer or by hand.
- Add the lime juice to the water with sugar to taste and stir well.
- Serve over ice cubes.
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