Spiked Raspberry Lemonade
This is my favorite time of the year. Summer's hot days are here and my raspberries bushes are in full bloom. The bushes are yielding about a pint of raspberries per day and after a while, I like to challenge myself and create new ways to use them. This has to be my ALL TIME FAVORITE!
Did you know that the raspberry ( genus Rubus ) are in the rose family? The red raspberry may have been brought to North America by prehistoric people who crossed the Bering Straight and then introduced them to North America, although the wild black raspberry is believed to be native to the west. *
In Greek mythology, the raspberry (then white) was associated with fertility. It is rumored that Zeus' nursemaid, Ida, pinched her finger while picking them and her blood stained the berry red. The scientific name for red raspberries, Rubus idaeus, means literally “bramble bush of Ida”, named both for the nursemaid and the mountain where they grew on the island of Crete. **
Raspberries are rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E, iron and potassium. I wonder if mixing them with frozen lemonade and vodka blocks any of the benefits from the vitamins? I'd like to think, NO - it enhances the absorption!
Let's make this delightful beverage, you'll need:
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 tsp sugar
5 tbsp. Old Orchard Country Style frozen lemonade
4 ozs. cold water
2 shots of Vodka/serving
Fresh Mint for garnish
Fine strainer or cheese cloth
Frosted glass
This delightful cocktail takes a little planning but it's worth the time. Rinse a fancy glass and put it in the freezer for about a half an hour. (frosted glass)
The fresher your raspberries the sweeter your drink will be. I have raspberry bushes in my garden that yield big, juicy raspberries.
Fresh Raspberries
Place fresh raspberries in a glass with the sugar and "muddle" until you get a thick syrup. Muddle, that's a funny word, it just means to squish. I use a juice glass and the handle of a wooden spoon. Not very fancy but it does the job.
Add the frozen lemonade to a tall glass, gently pour the muddled raspberries on top and kiss it with that delightful vodka. This in it's self is a beautiful presentation but I like to take it over the top.
Pictured here, you can see the layer of lemonade, the raspberries and the vodka floating on top. Strain your drink thru a fine strainer or cheese cloth. No one like to spit out raspberries seeds or have them get stuck between your teeth while you're talking to someone. Not very attractive!
Once strained, pour into your frosty glass and garnish with fresh mint, frozen raspberries or quenelle (two spoonfuls of frozen lemonade passed back and forth to make a frozen football shape) of frozen lemonade. I did that and they floated on the top adding to the presentation.
This is sweet mint from my container garden. You want a peppermint for this drink, not a spearmint or GMO mint variations. Didn't know there were GMO mint variations? I have mint that is chocolate chip mint - smells just like chocolate chip ice cream. I also have apple mint, that smells like apple pie. Of course they don't taste anything like the sweet original dessert, but it's fun to use in different recipes.
I can't figure out if the best part of this recipe was creating it or the research that I had to do to perfect the portions. This can be made virgin by omitting the alcohol. If making for children, I might add more frozen lemonade so it would be a littler sweeter.
My goal was to share great recipes and learn about ingredients that we use everyday in a creative way. Who knew that blogging would be so much fun?
Enjoy this delightful beverage.
* Source: History of Raspberries - http://www.indepthinfo.com
** Source: History of Raspberries - http://www.indepthinfo.com