Free Regency Recipe: Making Lemonade

Ah, lemonade. The ultimate citrusy concoction that screams summer, refreshment, and – oddly enough – scurvy prevention. 

My own backyard tree recently decided to throw a citrus fiesta, leaving me with enough lemons to open a lemonade stand that could rival a Georgian naval fleet's supply. It’s a good reminder that while we now know lemons are vitamin C-packed powerhouses, people back in the day just thought, “Hey, this tastes nice in tea.”

But let’s rewind to the glory days of the British Empire – well before the Regency era, British sailors earned the nickname “limeys” as they were served a mandatory serve of citrus to stave off scurvy while at sea, though you could argue “lemon lads” would’ve been equally appropriate, because limes weren't always plentiful.

Keeping the navy healthy fell just as often to the humble lemon. After all, the empire wasn’t going to defend itself, and no one wanted to fight pirates with swollen gums and the energy of a soggy crumpet. Enter lemons, the unsung heroes of naval health.

Beyond their life-saving properties, lemons have always been culinary rockstars. From zesty liqueurs to tangy cakes, they’ve brought zing to everything from dessert tables to soap dishes. Yes, soap. Imagine scrubbing your Regency-era hands with a bar of lemon-scented soap after a long day of gossiping about Mr Darcy. Bliss.

As a drink, lemonade was a Regency-era showstopper, a homemade marvel crafted without modern luxuries like refrigeration or TikTok cocktail tutorials. Yet, it still managed to dazzle. Below is a recipe straight out of the 1800s, with a modern twist to make it sparkle like an Austen heroine at her first ball.

I grew up with a lemonade and rosewater recipe, but here’s one straight from the Regency era – remembering they had nothing to keep it cool but ice, snow, or freezing cold river water (there’s a reason so many drinks in the past were fermented).

Regency Lemonade:

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce (30g) lemon juice
• 2 ounces (60g) sparkling water
• 2 ounces (60g) orgeat
• Lemon wheel for garnish

Directions:

• Combine lemon juice and orgeat in a highball glass.
• Top with still water and stir. Use sparkling water to modernise this if you wish.
• Garnish with lemon wheel.

More ways to use up your lemons:

The magic of citrus extends to more than tea and scurvy. There’s also flavouring for the following:

• Liqueurs

• Ice creams

• Cordials

• Scones

• Cakes – especially lemon sponge

• Biscuits

• Sweets

• Cosmetics

• Soaps

…and of course, homemade lemonade.

Soaps and candles were more usually homemade, and scented with what grew locally, so the lavender wax candles in Always a Princess were made by the hero's mother (granted, she was a duchess). Later on, his Romany wife’s family create spruce-scented wax to celebrate a Christmas wedding in A Holiday Season at Clifton Hall.