Limonana
Freshly squeezed lemon and mint blended or served over ice — the quintessential Levantine summer drink whose name combines the Hebrew-Arabic words for lemon and mint.
- 3 ozfresh lemon juice(freshly squeezed)
- 20 leavesfresh mint(packed)
- 3 tbspsugar(to taste)
- 4 ozwater
- 2 cupsice
- mint spriggarnish
- 1Add lemon juice, mint, sugar, and water to blender.
- 2Blend until mint is pulverized.
- 3Add ice and blend until slushy.
- 4Pour into a glass.
- 5Garnish with fresh mint sprig.
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Limonana is the quintessential Middle Eastern summer drink — a frozen or fresh-squeezed lemon-mint beverage that combines two flavors that have been fundamental to the region's culinary identity since ancient times. The name blends lemon (limon in Hebrew/Arabic) with nana (the Hebrew/Arabic word for mint). Mint has been cultivated in the Mediterranean since ancient Egypt, valued both as a flavoring and a medicinal herb, and its combination with citrus appears in recipes across the cuisines of Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt. The icy, intensely refreshing quality of limonana — particularly in its blended, slushie-like form — made it the default summer cooler across the Levant. The drink gained international recognition through Israeli and Middle Eastern restaurants worldwide and through food media coverage of the regional cuisine.
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