Pink Lemonade Recipe

This lemonade recipe couldn't be more simple and refreshing. It's the answer to your summer nostalgia and perfect for serving at barbecues with Spatchcocked Barbecue Chicken or Slow Cooker Barbecue Beef Short Ribs. If you're not a fan of cranberry juice you could choose to use pomegranate juice instead. This will still create a beautiful pink hue and provide an additional tart flavor.

The history of lemonade is a complicated one. The existence of lemons dates back to about 8 million years ago, with the earliest version of lemonade being made in Egypt made from fermented barley combined with mint, rue, black pepper, and citron leaf. According to How Stuff Works, "By the 18th century, lemonade had made its way to America along with waves of European immigrants. During the Victorian era, the women's temperance movement pushed lemonade as an alternative to alcohol. One Sunkist slogan of the day read: "Good-bye to liquor, here's to lemonade." From 1877-1881, the White House banned alcohol from all state dinners and other functions. Although President Rutherford B. Hayes made the decision himself as a way to court the Prohibition Party, critics of the ban dubbed his wife Lucy, a renowned teetotaler, "Lemonade Lucy," and the moniker stuck. It's fun to imagine how lips must have puckered when in lieu of alcohol she might have served Isabella Beeton's lemonade recipe from the 1861 Victorian classic "The Book of Household Management."

As for how pink lemonade was first introduced, the story goes that a New York Times obituary for Henry E. Allott credits him with inventing pink lemonade. According to this story, Allot accidentally dropped some red cinnamon candies into a big batch of regular lemonade, turning the beverage pink. As the beverage evolved, the introduction of cranberry juice and other rose-colored juices took the place of the cinnamon candies to create a pink-hued, tart, refreshing drink for all to enjoy.