French Lemonade
 

We just got back from a week in France. In several different cities and towns, my kids ordered lemonade at lunch or dinner. What they got was this great, slightly carbonated drink with a subtle lemon flavor. It was way better than the lemonade they usually get here in the U.S. I feel pretty sure it was not made in-house by the restaurants, but rather came from a vendor (like restaurants serving Coke and Dr. Pepper). We would love to try and find it here in the U.S., but we never thought to ask about the brand. Can anyone help out?

Thanks.

In England lemonade means Sprite!

You can get it various places. Aldi has it. Trader Joes and World Market. It comes in a glass bottle--can't remember a brand name. It is good, and comes in other flavors. Whole Foods probably has it.

Here are a bunch. Lorina is one I recall buying here.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...emonade+brands

In Europe, we often (parents and offspring) order Schweppes bitter lemon, or lemonsoda (seems to have several different names). We like it because it's less sweet than U.S. lemon-flavored sodas.

And as you could tell, this is not what Americans think of as lemonade. If you want that, you order citron presse. Then you are served a half-cup or so of lemon juice, a small pitcher of water, some sugar and possibly some ice. Then you can mix your own glass to your own level of liking.

<b>Limonade</b> = lemon-lime drink like 7-Up or Sprite, also the name of British lemonade

<b>Citronnade</b> = American lemonade

Is citron pressé served in France anymore? Or does it betray my era.

Citron pressé and orange pressé are alive and well in France.

Oh, good. I'd hate to have bottled replace the real thing entirely. Too much of that going around.

I think that all over Europe, lemonade is a carbonated beverage. In Italy, that ordered in a restaurant would be carbonated, but the word "limonata" is also used for the home-squeezed.

The most popular brand of carbonated lemonade her in Italy is San Pellegrino, which is not overly sweet, made with real lemon, and much better (in my opinion) than Sprite.

Yes, San Pellegrino is very good and available in the US. There's 1 left in my fridge as we speak. I wouldn't put it in the same category with American soft drinks which I don't think about buying because I wasn't brought up drinking them & never got a taste for them. I find them too-too sweet and not thirst quenching.

My favorite thing about citron presse is that it continuously changes as you get further down toward the bottom of the glass. The ratio of sugar to water to juice can further change by additions during the drinking process. Meanwhile the ice melts, further changing the ratios. Properly drunk, a citron presse will allow an hour or more of people watching at an outdoor cafe. Limonade just can't do that.

Pschitt was my granddaughter's favorite drink by far on her two trips to Paris. We can find other brands of carbonated lemonade here in Atlanta but they just don't measure up to Pschitt (at least in her mind). Wish we could find some but it seems to be a very elusive product here.

https://john183france2011.shutterfly.com/pictures/2117

https://john183france2011.shutterfly.com/pictures/2116

It might require a name change to become popular in the US. :)

I can't imagine why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSWGd_3QERA

It wasn't the famous Orangina?

Remember Pschitt from my very first trip to Europe. LOVED it, for many reasons!!

Lorina is actually on the shelves at many Big Lots right now, and worth the try. It's very good. They have a coconut lime (coco citron vert) also, but that's not nearly as good as the one made by Taillefine. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the Taillefine the last few times in Paris -- does anyone know if they've ceased trading?

Taillefine Fizz still has 3.6% of the "adult" soft drink market in France, but Coca-Cola's Finley brand has had a massive launch over the past year to try to crush all competition.

Orangina?