Make a Brazilian Lime With the Last Piece of Condensed Milk
Sweetened condensed milk has two main uses: Desserts and drinks . And while most dessert recipes call for an entire can of the stuff, smaller treats like iced fruit chips and drinks often require a drizzle or a spoonful, leaving you with condensed milk.
Once opened, syrup-like creamy dairy products will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks, and I suggest you use that time to make and drink as many Brazilian limeades as you can.
According to the New York Times, Brazilian limeade “is also known as limonada Suíça, which translates to Swiss lemonade, because it usually includes the sweetened condensed milk that the Swiss company Nestlé sold in Brazil in the 1940s.” Whatever you call it, it’s delicious. The hazy combination of whole limes, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and ice has an intense flavor, but neither flavor lingers on your tongue for too long. It’s tart, sweet, creamy, bitter, in quick succession.
You will need a blender:
- Cheap Blender: BLACK+DECKER PowerCrush Multi-Function Blender
- Not so cheap blender: NutriBullet Blender Combo
- Not a cheap blender at all: Vitamix A2300 Ascent Series smart blender
A large pitcher of cloudy, sweet, tart, and slightly bitter is welcome at any meeting, but it’s not great for serving in batches, so if you’re making Brazilian limeade for a one-person party, a glass at a time is best. This drink is made with whole limes, zest, and everything else, which makes it more complex and flavorful, but it can get uncomfortably bitter when steeped. To make solo limeade (with or without a cup of Solo), you’ll need a lime, a large spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, and some sugar. (You also need water and ice, but those are hardly ingredients.)
After you have collected everything you need, you need to mix it all together. You don’t want to completely destroy the lime, as this can draw too much oil out of the peel, which will also make the drink bitter. After mixing, you should still see small pieces of green peel floating around (about 1/8 inch is a good size). I ended up blending mine for 15 seconds in my (apparently discontinued) Instant Pot blender . Strain and serve in a tall glass with more ice and refresh.
Brazilian lemonade (per person)
Ingredients:
- 1 whole lime
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- 1 glass of water
- 1 glass of ice, plus more for serving
Wash the lime in hot water, then pat dry and cut off both ends. Cut the lime into quarters and add it to the blender along with the other ingredients. Blend until lime is broken into tiny 1/8 inch pieces.
Fill a tall glass with ice and strain the limeade through a fine sieve and over the ice. Enjoy immediately.