Lemonade is lemonade, right? Well, not quite...there's the chalky taste of commercial lemonade powders or there is the taste of your own fresh-squeezed lemonade. Some Amish cooks take it a step further. Lancaster County Amish Lemonade is a recipe published years ago in the Philly paper after they sent reporters scouring Amish country for some great summer recipes.

I actually tasted this style of lemonade years and years ago at an Amish home and it was on a hot, hot summer day and this lemon was icy, icy cold and....wow...my throat still longs for that lemonade on hot days. Maybe I'll be making a pitcher this weekend.
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Lemonade is one of those refreshing straight out of a storybook drinks that even people who don’t typically love lemons seem to like. There a few images more quintessentially American than a cold frosty pitcher of lemonade on the porch of a farmhouse on a hot summer day.
Who remembers the old Country Time Lemonade commercials? Those baked in the idea of lemonade and hot summer days. Even though Country Time Lemonade really doesn’t compare to this homemade goodness.
And I know some Amish cooks that will take this recipe and get creative with it, making it a blend of tea and lemonade, or squeezing in some other fruit flavors fresh raspberries, peaches, blueberries, and other stuff.
Lemons are commonly carried in Amish bulk food stores. Lemons tend to hold up well during shipping, so it's a great source of citrus for the Amish.
It's not uncommon to see lemonade being made with a good old-fashioned potato masher. It does the best job at really squeezing the juice out of the lemons.
🍋 Lancaster County Amish Lemonade
- 10 lemons scrubbed
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 cups ice cold water
📋 Instructions
- Cut lemons in half lengthwise and slice thinly, as if for garnish.
- Mash them with the sugar and salt in a large, deep bowl or crock with an old-fashioned potato masher or heavy wooden spoon until the slices give up their juice, the sugar is dissolved and the juice is syrupy, about 5 minutes.
- Pour about half the lemon slices into a sieve over a bowl or pot, pressing the solids to release as much liquid as possible.
- Discard the solids and transfer the liquid to a serving pitcher.
- Repeat the process with the remaining lemons.
- Stir in the water until blended.
🍋 More Amish Recipes With Lemon
Lemon Bars - These are delicious!
Lancaster Lemonade - So good!
White Chocolate and Lemon Cheesecake - Heavenly!
🖨️ Full Recipe
Lancaster County Amish Lemonade
Ingredients
- 10 lemons scrubbed
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 cups ice cold water
Instructions
- Cut lemons in half lengthwise and slice thinly, as if for garnish.
- Mash them with the sugar and salt in a large, deep bowl or crock with an old-fashioned potato masher or heavy wooden spoon until the slices give up their juice, the sugar is dissolved and the juice is syrupy, about 5 minutes
- .Pour about half the lemon slices into a sieve over a bowl or pot, pressing the solids to release as much liquid as possible.
- Discard the solids and transfer the liquid to a serving pitcher.
- Repeat the process with the remaining lemons.Stir in the water until blended.
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