Easy Limonana, otherwise known as Israeli Mint Lemonade, is a sweet-tart, zesty drink with only 3 ingredients plus water and no simple syrup.
About this recipe…
Limonana is a refreshing mint lemonade drink that’s simple to make. Just combine the fresh lemon juice, sugar, and water, then add fresh mint leaves and mix well.
You don’t even need to turn on the stove to make a simple syrup.
While one way to make this drink is to blend everything in a blender and then strain out the leaves, with this recipe you don’t need a blender.
Because it is so simple to mix up, you can easily make a batch any size you like to serve at your next backyard barbeque, family picnic, or summer party.
Or keep it in your fridge to have handy any time you need a delicious lemony-mint thirst quencher.
A little background
While most Israeli foods are adaptations from recipes that immigrants brought with them when they moved from their countries to Israel. These mostly are Jews who immigrated from Muslim countries to escape persecution.
Limonana, like the Sabich pita sandwich, is completely Israeli.
Israel has some brilliant minds when it comes to ads. One example is that of “Limonana.” (Some people write Lemonana).
In the early 1990s, an Israeli advertising agency wanted to prove that bus ads worked.
So, they created a fake campaign for a “new” bottled drink called Limonana and plastered it on the sides of buses.
And the “fake” ad campaign was so successful that people actually started going into stores asking for it.
After that, restaurants and juice companies actually started making it for real to meet the demand.
And so mint lemonade became a popular drink in Israel.
And lemons have nutritional value!
And mint has nutritional value as well!
A little about Israeli cuisine.
“Israeli cuisine” is mostly Middle Eastern (as opposed to Eastern European) food that was brought to Israel by Jews when they fled or were expelled from Muslim countries and moved to Israel mostly after the declaration of the State of Israel (collectively known as Mizrahi Jews).
Recipes were passed from generation to generation, and although decades have passed, the foods are still known by the culture they came from, and everyone seems to have their own way of making them.
That said, there are many variations of pretty much any “Israeli” recipe because of background, custom, or even just taste.
However, Limonana is purely Israeli and simply lemonade with mint—you choose how tart, sweet, or minty you want it!
What is needed to make Easy Limonana?
I hardly ever meal plan, so I like to keep a cupboard full of seasonings, spices, veggies, and canned goods in my kitchen to use whenever the mood strikes.
But these 3 ingredients are all you need to have on hand to make this recipe even last minute!
fresh lemon juice
white granulated sugar
fresh mint leaves
Love lemon drinks?
Try Sweet Lemonade!
Easy Limonana Recipe—Israeli Mint Lemonade
Delicious and refreshing, sweet-tart mint lemonade. Easy and quick to make with only 3 ingredients and water!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- fresh leaves from 1-2 sprigs of mint (depending on how minty you'd like it to be)
- 6 cups water (or more for a milder taste).
Instructions
- Pour lemon juice into a pitcher.
- Add water and sugar and mint leaves (leave some for garnish, if desired).
- Mix well.
- Remove the mint or leave it in for a stronger taste.
- Chill until cold.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 127Sodium: 18mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 0gSugar: 32gProtein: 0g