Missing Rio already? Me too. It’s like entering a Netflix Show Hole but you have to wait 2 years… aughhhhh. The good news, is that my friend and neighbor here in Honolulu has the perfect fix to calm your post-Olympic’s-blues, and it’s Brazillian Limeade. It’s straight up delicious and so easy to make. Better yet? He came over with his amazing wife yesterday and showed me how to make it. We took lot’s of pictures – and even a video.
Warning – if you like exact measurements for your recipes this may not be for you. It’s kind of like getting directions from a local – “turn left at the grassy hill not the dirt hill, and go straight for about a football field’s length until you see the duck pond. Turn left and drive about as far as you can throw a baseball and you will be there.” But the locals know best, so go with it.
So here’s to you Ben – and Rio – and gold medals – and the most refreshing drink I’ve ever had in my life.
Instructions:
(In Ben’s Words): So for starters, you need a GOOD blender. Like a Vitamix or Blendtec type thing. None of this Oster or Black & Decker or Ninja crap. You need a good blender and cheap ones don’t work. Do not attempt with a crappy blender.
Next, cut up a bunch of limes into wedges.
Ok, now you know kind of the “standard” size blender for like a Vitamix? Usually every Vitamix you see is like the same basic size, right? So we’re basing this off of that size.
Dump in 2 cups of white sugar. Yes- two cups. This is the only ingredient that I have an actual measurement for.
So now you’ve got your blender with two cups of sugar in it. Fill the rest of the blender up with your lime wedges until you can put the top on. No need to cram ’em in there, just throw in a bunch of lime wedges until the blender is full and you can easily put the top on.
Then add sweetened condensed milk. How much? Up to you. I’m a believer that you can never have too much, but then again, I’ve never really put that theory to the test. In any event, we’re talking about somewhere between 1/4 to 1/3 of a can, the exact amount doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things…
Ok, so now you’ve got your blender with the sugar on the bottom, the lime wedges up to the top, and the milk thrown in there somewhere along the way. (I guess it doesn’t matter when you put the milk in, but as a habit, I always sort of drizzle it on top of the limes). Ok, now fill the blender up with water up to where the lid goes. Like, you don’t want it overflowing with water, you want a gap so that you can put the top of the blender on without water spilling out, ya know?
Ok, now this next part is key, and is where most people will mess it all up, so pay attention.
You want to blend the mix, BUT NOT CUT INTO THE LIME PEEL. This is crucial. You want the blender to scoop out the meat of the lime, without shredding the peel. The lime rind is super tart and mealy, and it’ll throw off your entire profile. I’ve seen people just blend the shit out of the whole thing until it’s just a chunky soup and it NEVER tastes right.
So you want to use your blender (and again, this take a bit of practice and finesse) to blend it so that the lime meat gets blended, but the rind doesn’t. Now every blender is different, so I can’t tell you what “setting” to use (eg- “blend on High for 1 minute”), but it CAN be done and it’s really not THAT hard if you know your blender.
Ok, so now you’ve got this blended concoction. Take a strainer and have it over a pretty big container, cause it makes a fair amount. So have the strainer ready over whatever you’re gonna pour it into and dump the concoction into the strainer. Then, fill up the (now empty) blender to the top with water and dump that over the strainer so that the water gets the remnants from the blender, and also the remnants from the strainer.
Let the strainer drain. Bounce it a few times to make sure you get it it all.
Stir and serve over ice.
WARNING: it does NOT keep overnight. It WILL spoil and taste sour the next day. Single use only; make and serve, do not plan on keeping.
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