Lemon Crystal Drink Mix

Size: 9 ounce glass jar

Lemon Crystal, Pure Cane Sugar

Recipes for lemon crystals showed up as far back as 1864, in Dr. Chase’s book “Dr. Chase’s Recipes and Information for Everybody”. Dr. Chase wrote voraciously about health, well-being and just about everything else –his books sold more than any other at the time…including the Bible and carried over 800 recommendations. He wrote:

Recipe for Lemonade to Carry in the Pocket: Loaf Sugar – rub it down finely in a mortar and add citric acid ½ oz. (tartaric acid will do) and continue the trituration until all is intimately mixed and bottled for use…It is best to dry the powders.

A rounding tablespoon can be done up in a paper and carried conveniently in the pocket when persons are going into out-of-the-way places, and added to half pint of cold water when all the beauties of lemonade will stand before you waiting to be drank, not costing a penny a glass. This can be made sweeter, or more sour, if desired.

Of course, plenty of other iterations on the lemonade theme have cropped up over time: Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife cookbook of 1824 included this recipe for lemon cream, a version of lemonade. Lemon crystals can replace the fresh lemon and sugar option. It might be worth a try:

“Pare the rind very thin from four fresh lemons, squeeze the juice, and strain it put them both into a quart of water, sweeten it to your taste, [or use True Treats Lemon crystals, to taste] add the whites of six eggs, beat to a froth; set it over the fire, and keep stirring until it thickens, but do not let it boil then pour it in a bowl; when cold, strain it through a sieve, put it on the fire, and add the yelks of the eggs stir it till quite thick, and serve it in glasses.”

Other recipes, using traditional lemonade as a base, include this spirited one from Candy and Ice Cream Magazine of 1915:

“Use five lemons and one cup full of sugar to each quart of water [or 2-3 tablespoons of crystalized lemons] to make strong lemonade. Bruise fresh mint leaves and stalks and add to the lemonade. Then add an equal amount of ginger ale and a good size piece of ice. Let stand about half an hour before serving in order that the mint may flavor the drink.”