When was lemonade first invented

However, the earliest written record of a lemon beverage actually comes from 12th-century Egypt. Along the Mediterranean coast, medieval Egyptians enjoyed Kashkab — a drink made from fermented barley and flavored with mint, rue, black pepper, and citron leaf. As lemons were introduced to the region, this concoction became qatarmizat — essentially, a lemon water sweetened with sugar.

This ancient recipe most resembles the lemonade we know and love today. There are two contested origin stories for pink lemonade , but they both share roots with 19th-century traveling circuses.

The first thanks Henry Allott for the creation of the pink drink. It is reported that the Chicago carny accidentally dropped cinnamon candies into a batch of lemonade he was selling at the show, turning the whole concoction pink. The second claim credits the brother of a lion tamer, Pete Conklin, who reportedly ran out of fresh water for his lemonade.

The very first uses for the lemon in the Mediterranean were as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens. Although the citron--like a lemon but larger, with a very thick rind and very little pulp or juice--seems to have been known by the ancient Jews before the time of Christ, and perhaps dispersed in the Mediterranean by them, the lemon seems not to have been known in pre-Islamic times.

In fact, the malum medicum mentioned by Pliny is the citron. Egyptians of the fourteenth century knew of the lemon. Most peasants drank a date-and-honey wine. Along the Egyptian Mediterranean coast, people drank kashkab , a drink made of fermented barley and mint, rue, black pepper, and citron leaf.

Although the lemon originates farther to the east, and lemonade may very well have been invented in one of the eastern countries, the earliest written evidence of lemonade comes from Egypt. The first reference to the lemon in Egypt is in the chronicles of the Persian poet and traveler Nasir-i-Khusraw ? The trade in lemon juice was quite considerable by To Read the Full Story. Subscribe Sign In. Continue reading your article with a WSJ membership. Resume Subscription We are delighted that you'd like to resume your subscription.

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