Give Lemonade A Tropical Twist With One Canned Ingredient

When it's summer and life gives you plenty of lemons, there's only one thing to do: make lemonade. And not just figuratively. There's no better way to beat the heat than with a refreshing, cold glass of this sweet and citrusy drink. It's always worth picking up some tips for making the best lemonade you'll be drinking all summer. But here's another one that might catch you by surprise: add canned coconut cream for a tropical upgrade.

Canned coconut cream is a rich, thick cream made from the flesh of the fruit and water (usually at a ratio of 4:1). It's creamier and fattier than regular coconut milk. Actually, just a ½ cup packs roughly 20 grams of fat, so its richness makes it a great way to improve the mouthfeel and creaminess of smoothies, desserts, and even sauces and soups. This is why coconut cream is an excellent addition to lemonade as well. 

Just make sure not to confuse it with cream of coconut. Despite how similar the two sound, cream of coconut and coconut cream are not the same. Cream of coconut contains added sugar. With more than 50 grams of sugar per 100 grams, it's by far the sweetest of all coconut-based milk products. You can still use it in this lemonade, but you'll want to tweak the prep process by reducing or even skipping the sugar standardly added to the drink. 

Making a killer lemonade is one of the tastiest ways to use the canned coconut cream in your pantry. Not only will it take the refreshing drink up a notch by adding a subtle tropical flavor to it, but it will also give it a rich, velvety consistency. Before you assume preparing this lemonade is too much work, don't overthink it. It's actually one of the easiest summer drinks you can make, only calling for four ingredients: fresh lemons, water, sugar (or cream of coconut), and canned coconut cream.

To whip up this tropical lemonade, start as you would with any lemonade recipe: squeeze the juice from your lemons into a pitcher. After adding some water, sweeten the mixture with sugar, simple syrup (which you can easily make using water and sugar), or your preferred sweetener to taste; or you can also opt to mix in 1 or 2 tablespoons of cream of coconut to taste instead. Then, add the canned coconut cream, thoroughly stirring it first. How much or little you use depends on how creamy you want your lemonade and the size of the batch, but consider starting with a quarter of a can for every three lemons you juice.

Before you mix everything together, add some ice and a pinch of salt. While it may sound strange, the sodium ions present in salt will tone down the lemons' bitterness and enhance the drink's sweetness. Once everything is well combined, simply pour your lemonade into a tall glass filled with ice and enjoy. For a creative presentation, rim the glass with some coconut flakes. And don't forget to chill it beforehand so your coconut lemonade stays cool.