I didn't try it for a long, long time because I was very put off by putting sweetened condensed milk in with citrus fruit. It seemed very wrong. And then I had some at Tucano's and my life has not been the same since. I've never met anyone who doesn't love it, but I won't tell them what's in it until they try it because about 80% of people seem to have the same reaction as I did. And yeah, I totally just made up that statistic.
It starts off with fresh, juicy limes.
You pop them in a blender with some sugar water and pulse just a few times. Using the whole lime takes advantage of the flavors from both the juice and the flavorful oils in the rind.
Pour the mixture from the blender through a strainer and into a pitcher, thus saving all of the flavorful liquid. You might need to do this in a couple of batches.
Then the secret ingredient: sweetened condensed milk. You can buy these mini cans in the latin section of the grocery store. This recipes needs about 1 1/2 little cans. Or just open a regular sized can and make some chocolate sauce with the leftovers!
Brazilian Lemonade
4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.
Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you're using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.
Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.
Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn't test it and it came out a little bitter. If it's bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don't make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.
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I'm just having time to check in here and can i just say, YUM??! I sure wish I could attend this baby shower!
Most of you know that my husband and I both lived in Brazil and we love love LOVE Brazilian Lemonade. Ironically, in Brazil, they call this version "Swiss Lemonade" because of the milk in it, funny huh? We love making this for summer BBQ's and it goes great with all types of food. I hope you all try it!
I'm wondering if you can use fat free sweetened condensed milk? Or is that just an insult?
You could totally use it. But don't use the Walmart brand; I've noticed that Walmart sweetened condensed milk is pretty gritty and the fat-free s.c. milk is SUPER gritty.
Can I use "key limes"?
Oooh, that's a good question! I know key limes are smaller and the juice is tarter, so I don't now how many limes you'd need or if you'd need to add any extra sugar, but you could always try it and experiment!
I've made this several times since the first time you gave me the recipe and I loooooove it. I wish someone would make it for me everyday.
oooh, I wanted to add something (and Kate, this might be a good thing to add into the post) that you can buy mini-cans of sweetened condensed milk. They aren't in the baking isle though, they are with the Latin foods. I love them because they come in a little 6-pack and each can is only 3.5oz, which is perfect for recipes like this when you have to open a whole can and then have a lot of left-overs. I use them for a lot of things that call for small amounts of sweetened condensed milk.
The cans look like this: http://www.amazon.com/Nestle-Lechera-Mini-6-Count-Boxes/dp/B000H13450
I saw this on the site this morning, and I just HAD to try it. We were headed to a playdate and lunch at my sister's house, so I made a pit stop and grabbed some limes.
We tried it for lunch, and it was delicious! In fact, I liked it so much, I made another batch for dinner (and so my husband could try it).
My favorite part, my kids don't care for it, so it's all MINE!!! With some for the hubby, of course.
Shouldn't it be Brazilian Limeade?
No matter - Brazilian whatever. . . it looks delicious!
Just jumped over here from bbc, and I already love this blog! Everything looks so yummy and is motivating me to cook more often...
Sounds delish! I remember having this at Tucano's and I'm glad I can get a recipe for it. Thanks!
(Carly's sis)
Mmmmm... I can't wait to try this, and the chipotle salad. All of your recipes so far have been delicious! Keep them coming!
I am definitely going to make this - I am going grocery shopping today and getting the ingredients for this and the chicken salad. Great ideas.
Congrats on the baby, Sara!
Does the condensed milk make it less tart? I'm not a huge fan of lemonade generally because it's just too tart for my taste, but this recipe has me intrigued!
Yeah, Hillary, the milk takes the edge off the tartness; the whole concept kind of reminds me of a Sonic cream slush, but not quite as sweet.
I am all about yummy drinks...so I am off to the store to buy some lemons!
Emily, they don't use lemons in Brazil- that's what they call limes, so hence the name Brazilian "lemon"ade!
I can't wait to try this! I love lemonade and this sounds interesting, but yummy.
I don't think Ryan has ever mentioned "Swiss Lemonade" before. I'll have to ask him. It'll be nice to have an alternative to Guarana. (I'm not a huge fan of it.)
I had no idea you would use the entire lime in a drink. I'm really excited to make this. Any chance a brazilian meat recipe is coming up?
I just bought the limes to make this tonight! Thanks for these great ideas.
haha I said lemons in my earlier comment when I meant to say limes...guess the name is more confusing than I thought!
AMAZING!!! My sister Stephanie (who knew?) came in town this weekend and made this (and your chocolate chip cookies-yum) and we LOVED it! It is so good, we will definitely be making this a lot.
so delish! you're right, though...it doesn't keep well...the bitterness comes back out after it's been in the fridge for a few hours...adding a bit more condensed milk helps, but definitely better to finish it all at once!
I have made this drink and I thought it was really good, but I thought it had pretty intense flavor. I thought to myself that the next time I made it that I would add a bit more water or something. After reading the other comments posted on this recipe, I have discovered that I used Key Limes rather than regular limes. I feel like such a bonehead, but now I can't wait to get regular limes (I thought the limes looked small, but I have never cooked with them before) and try this again. LOL! I LOVE THE DAILY BITE!
Just made this tonight and it was a hit! Thanks for the step-by-step instructions and the great recipe! Oh, and the pictures help lots too and make the posts even more interesting and try-able. Now, if only I had found out about those small containers of sweetened condensed milk before. I've got some left over sweetened condensed milk I need to do something with...
YUM! Delicious! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
cafe sabor in logan serves this but adds raspberries to it. yum yum yum! thanks for the recipe, i have tried making it on my own and it wasn't quite right. am going to try it for dinner tonight!
This was soooo good! We were so excited to see that we had everything needed for this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I made this for a get-together recently and it was a huge hit!! I loved it! And the sweetened condensed milk was great to cut the strong lime taste!
FANTASTIC! I bought the ingredients a long time a go, but ended up not making it until today! So sad I waited! It's our new favorite and is so quick and easy!
I am printing out a BUNCH of your recipes to put in a binder! Trying this one and I am going to add a shot or two of Tequila! :)
LOVE LOVE LOVE all you guys do
Have you tried using lemons instead? I prefer them to limes just wondering if their skin is too thick/bitter?
I tried this at a book group one evening, but it was made by a woman who grew up in Argentina. She added mint to it and it was also delicious - sort of a non-alcoholic, creamy mojito.
This sounds SOOOOOO GOOD ! Now I must go find the limes -- thanks to Sara for the tip regarding small cans of S.C. milk too!
Appreciate this site and all the good recipes you have posted! I really liked the format of showing the pictures separately from the recipe, so that it was more easily printable though; would like to see all the recipes done that way!
I'm also wondering about using lemons instead? I just inherited lots and lots and LOT of lemons! Love your blog!
Loved this recipe! It turned out awesome.
I just wanted to say thanks for this recipe! I served this to my hubby (who served a mission in Brazil) and some friends for our Valentine's dinner date. They all commented on how good it was! My husband said it was just like the stuff he remembered from Brazil. Thanks!!!
Yummy!! very good, made it this weekend for Easter!!! Thanks:) will def. be making again and again. its really easy:)
Simple. Easy. Quick. And refreshing. Just whipped it up for the next day's activities. Hopefully it won't be gone soon enough! I think I'll make this everyday from now on. A bit too much I think? Well every weekend, that's when all the family members are home anyways. Perfect drink for picnics, gatherings, any sunny day. It's wonderful. Thank you for posting this up.
Love your website! My sister and I share things through Stumbleupon.com and she sent me your Baked Creamy chicken Taquitos recipes. I had to make them! So after church today I whipped the taquitos up along with some yellow saffron rice and made this delicious lemonade that was PERFECT with the meal! So refreshing and my husband took seconds of both the taquitos and drink...so I'll be making these again! I posted about it on my blog here: www.sweetbeansoflife.blogspot.com
Made these tonight to go with our carne asada.
Sooooooo good!
I just found your blog today and I am hooked! You appear to have the same taste buds as me. You cook with the ingredients I love to cook with. CAn't wait to try out all your fabulous recipes.
hey ladies! i've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to make this and i'm finally doing it on saturday for a bbq :) yay!
quick question tho - when you say that it doesn't keep very long - like how long are we really talking about? would a couple hours be ok so i can make it before the party starts? or is it better to make it as everyone is arriving??
thanks soooo much!!!
sara
Sara, you can definitely make all of the parts ahead of time. Like prepare the sugar water and get it really chilled, get the limes ready, measure the sweet and condensed milk, etc. But for best results, I would throw it all together as people are arriving.
ok you're the boss! :) that's what i'll do then!
thanks for the quick response!!!!
(i'm also making the chili-lime mango skewers - soo excited!!)
Wow, looks so delish!!! :)
I made this with the grilled fish tacos (which were a big hit with hubby. He balked at the idea of a grilled fish taco instead of the deep fried version but ended up loving the grilled!). Anyway, the Brazilian lemonade was delicious as well and when I went to look for a small can of sweetened condensed milk at Wal Mart I found instead a SQUEEZE bottle of the Nestle La Lechera milk! That's what I got and it was so easy to squeeze out what I needed and then put the bottle in the fridge until I need it again. So, I just wanted to give a heads up about the possibility of finding the milk in a squeeze bottle at your local Wal Mart. Thanks so much for all your delicious recipes!
I may be a little on the airheaded side of all things cooking. so dumb question: after pouring in the S&C milk do you put it back in the blender or just mix it by hand? i'm thinking since the milk is so heavy does it stay mixed or sink to the bottom if mixing by hand?
I mix by hand, well, with a spoon, and it turns out great for me!
Yes Becca, ditto Eve. Just mix it up by hand, it stirs up really easily.
Any suggestions on making it less bitter? I've made it twice now and within minutes it's so bitter, it's undrinkable. Adding sugar does not really help. I also noticed in your pictures of the limes after they've been blended, they were not pulvarized....I've read recipes for this where it says to compeltely obliterate the limes. Could this be contributing to the bitterness?
Atomic Mom- pulverizing the limes is exactly what makes it bitter because you blend the bitter pith into the drink, so definitely avoid that. If it's still bitter than it's most likely your limes. Limes can be incredibly bitter and that will ruin the whole drink. Take a taste of the juice in your limes after you cut them and make sure they taste good before you use them.
Thank you Best Bites Ladies. Just made a batch and did not pulvarize the limes. It was very drinkable. :) My 20 month old baby loves this.
We LOOOVED this!
Just FYI ......I found sweetened condensed milk at Walmart on the ethnic aisle. It comes in a squeeze bottle.......so, you can just use what you need and refrigerate the rest for another time.
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