Ingredients
Lemon syrup
- 6lemons, juiced and zested
- 250 gcaster sugar
- 250 mlwater
- 1/2 tspcitric acid, if you have it
To build
- sparkling mineral water, well chilled
- ice cubes
- lemon slices
Note
- this is a homemade approximation, not the commercial recipe
Directions
- Wash the lemons well, since you are using the zest. Use unwaxed lemons if you can, or scrub the wax off under hot water. Juice the lemons and strain the juice to remove pips and pulp. You should have roughly two hundred millilitres of juice.
- Put the sugar, water and lemon zest strips in a pan. Heat it gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a bare simmer and cook it for five minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the zest in it.
- Let it cool completely with the zest still steeping. Strain out the zest strips and discard them. Stir the strained lemon juice into the cooled syrup. Add the citric acid if you are using it.
- Taste it: it should be far too sweet and far too sharp on its own. It will be diluted heavily, so it must be concentrated now.
- Fill a tall glass with ice cubes. Pour in about fifty millilitres of the lemon syrup. Top it up with well-chilled sparkling mineral water. Use a mineral water rather than plain soda water if you can.
- Pour slowly down the side of the glass to keep the fizz. Stir it once, gently, with a long spoon. Taste it and add more syrup if it is too weak. The commercial drink is noticeably sweet, so do not be shy with it.
- Add a squeeze of fresh lemon if you want it sharper. Now serving, which should be very cold. Add a slice of lemon to the glass. Serve it immediately, while it is still fizzing hard. It is drunk cold on a hot day, which is its whole purpose.
Technique
- This is a homemade lemon soda in the same spirit, not the commercial recipe.
- The bottled drink has not used Paeroa spring water for decades.
- Steep the zest off the heat, since simmering it draws out bitterness.
Substitutions
- Plain soda water if mineral water is unavailable.
- Bottled lemon juice, though fresh is considerably better.
Variations
- Made with less sugar, for a sharper drink.
- With a strip of lemon peel left in the bottle.
- Mixed with spirits, which is a common adult treatment.
History
Lemon and Paeroa was first bottled in 1907 by mixing lemon juice with mineral water from a spring at Paeroa in the Waikato.
Frequently asked questions
What is L&P?
L&P is a drink from New Zealand: lemon-flavored sparkling drink from Paeroa, ‘world famous in New Zealand’. Lemon and Paeroa was first bottled in 1907 by mixing lemon juice with mineral water from a spring at Paeroa in the Waikato.
How long does L&P take to make?
L&P takes 15 min of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 glasses. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in L&P?
Yes, within limits. Plain soda water if mineral water is unavailable. Bottled lemon juice, though fresh is considerably better.
What is the most important thing to get right in L&P?
Taste it: it should be far too sweet and far too sharp on its own. It will be diluted heavily, so it must be concentrated now.
