Healthy and Bubbly Pink Lemonade

What could be more refreshing on a hot summer’s day than icy cold lemonade? Discover how to make probiotic pink lemonade that is refreshing, delicious, and also good for your gut!

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As delicious as lemonade is, there is something special about pink lemonade. Some versions of pink lemonade seem to be lemonade with… pink added. Those are definitely more special looking than ordinary lemonade. Maybe it is because I was once a little girl who loved pink, but the pink color adds a certain je ne sais quoi.

Pinkalicious would understand!

However, a pink lemonade that combines the sweet, tangy, citrus flavor of lemonade with an actual pink flavor? Like strawberry or cherry? That is what you call a lemonade upgrade. A lemonade that is a bit extra.

Then, if this pink lemonade is also a bit bubbly because it is teeming with probiotics? That means it is also good for you! Not only are the probiotics beneficial to our health, but they consume some of the sugar so that this lemonade is less bad for you and also good for you.

Pinkalicious’s mother needed this recipe!

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Why would you want to culture lemonade?

Well, it is a question, since lemonade is quite delicious on its own. In fact, this recipe would be fine to just mix up and drink! Here is why I like to let it ferment a bit before we drink it:

• it gets bubbly, and something about a fizzy drink is special! It will get more bubbly the longer it sits out, so you want to stop it at the point where you will like it.
• some of the sugar is consumed in the culturing process, so fermenting makes it a lower sugar treat.
• probiotics that result from fermentation offer a variety of health benefits, including improved digestion, immune system support, and reduced inflammation.
• whey itself has health benefits beyond the probiotics. It contains amino acids and other nutrients that are good for us. This recipe uses just a small amount, though. Learn more about using whey for fermenting foods here.

Where do you get whey?

You may remember Miss Muffet, who ate her curds and whey while sitting on her tuffet. I don’t think I had any idea what was going on in that little poem until the part where the spider scared her off, which makes perfect sense.

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
There came a great spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

The curds and whey, I now understand, were cheese and the liquid that separated from it. Think of cottage cheese, where you have little blobs of soft cheese in a more liquid substance. The liquid-like part is the whey.

(In case you, like me, didn’t know what a tuffet is, it could be either a low seat or a small hill. There seems to be controversy over which one it is, at least in certain esoteric circles I am not part of. It seems poor Miss Muffet was sitting around eating her cottage cheese when the spider turned up and freaked her out, but that doesn’t sound poetic. Also, would she have been sitting out on a small hill eating cottage cheese? A small seat seems more likely…)

In any case, cheese making produces whey. If you make cheese, you are set.

You may have noticed a bit of yellowish liquid on top of plain yogurt before; that is also whey.

I usually get my whey from yogurt I strain for the purpose of having a thicker yogurt. Alternatively, I sometimes strain some kefir to make “kefir cheese”, which is very much like cream cheese.

If I couldn’t use whey, I would try this recipe with a bit of kombucha or water kefir. You want something to introduce the beneficial bacteria, which will then begin multiplying as they feed on the the sugar. Ginger bug or sauerkraut juice would probably work, but affect the taste.

How to Make Probiotic Pink Lemonade

Make your tea and let it cool. This one brews quickly in cool water:

*As much as I like this particular cherry strawberry tea, I am looking for a good alternative. This one contains “natural flavor”, which is a relatively meaningless term that can mean anything but a natural flavoring.

Pour sugar into your bottle through a funnel, followed by the whey and lemon juice. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with tea, leaving an inch or so at the top.

Close the top, shake to mostly dissolve the sugar, and let it sit at room temperature for the next 24 hours or so. Then remove the top briefly to allow excess gases to escape, shake it up a bit, and let it sit another day before repeating the “burping” of the bottle. I usually like it best after 2-3 days depending mainly on how warm the kitchen is. It ferments faster in warmer conditions.

You will probably notice some cloudy patches and a sort of plug of whey and lemon pulp at the top of the bottle after each day of fermenting. It may look odd, but it is normal and will remix if you shake it up.

When you decide the lemonade is bubbly enough, keep the top tightly fastened and put it in the refrigerator. The bubbliness will diminish a bit when the lemonade is cold, so if it gets overly bubbly and you are afraid to open it, chill it well before opening.

Here is a bottle just after shaking– no more funny looking parts:

Serve it cold. I don’t use ice, but you certainly could!

Make Probiotic Pink Lemonade Your Way

• Try any sort of tea you like in this recipe! It could be any herbal or fruit flavor, black tea, green tea, etc.
• If you want a plainer lemonade, use water instead of the tea. It will taste good, just different.
• You could try other options in place of the whey to start the fermentation process. I haven’t done it, so I can’t say how it would work! My best guess is that kombucha, jun tea, water kefir, or ginger bug would work.
• Increase or decrease the sugar. You do need some sugar to feed the culture, but you could cut it in half. Less sugar might result in a less bubbly result, and presumably it would be more sour. Increasing the sugar would likely make it sweet. You would also need to watch that it doesn’t over ferment. Opening the bottle up frequently and then getting it into the refrigerator to stop the ferment would be important if you use more sugar. No explosions!
• If you haven’t been consuming probiotic foods, maybe start with a small serving. Just in case.

Looking for more cold, fermented drinks? Try root beer water kefir or old fashioned root beer for a special treat!