Limeade is popular throughout Asia and often served salty. It will take some experimentation on your part to determine whether you like it really salty—in which case you should reduce the sugar substantially—or sweet, like lemonade. You might be surprised; salty limeade is usually considered more refreshing (and makes a good substitute for sports drinks). You can omit the salt entirely to make standard limeade.

　　

Ingredients

makes 8 servings

　　1 cup fresh lime juice, pulp and rinds reserved

　　1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

　　1 cup Sugar Syrup (preceding recipe), or to taste

　　

Step 1

Bring 6 cups water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the lime pulp and rinds. Cover and steep for 10 minutes, then strain and combine with the lime juice and salt. (You can serve at this point or refrigerate the lime mixture and sugar syrup until you’re ready to serve, up to a couple of days.)

　　

Step 2

Add sugar syrup to taste and serve over ice.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.