Blackberry Lemonade

"I wonder who it was that first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love?" wonders Elizabeth Bennet in Pride And Prejudice, while her mother rambles on about a young poet who was madly in love with Lizzie's older sister Jane, although, as Mrs Bennet says, "Nothing much came of it," prompting our heroine's wry observation.

So it is that we too wonder about who it was that first discovered the efficacy of adding blackberries to lemonade. 

Lemonade is one of those things that remind us that life is precious and pure, and that the world is indeed good. Add something more to it, like fresh fruit or a kick of spirit or a pureed something-something, and it becomes positively divine. 

The high sugar content in lemonade tends to be a problem for some. There's no workaround either (apart from using natural sweeteners instead of the refined white variety) as the sourness of the lemons needs to be cut with the sugar. The workaround a lot of people seem to prefer instead, is the addition of other tart/sweet fruits. Watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, all elevate a simple lemonade. Blackberry does it even better.

Vintage community cookbooks have made mention of a drink called a "Blackberry Ade" (or blackberry-ade), which is pretty much the blackberry lemonade we know and consume today. While some older recipes for the drink can be cumbersome, requiring that the fruit be cooked on the stovetop in sugar syrup, there's a modern day version that simply involves popping the washed blackberries into a mason jar and topping it with sugar and boiling hot water. 

The blackberries macerate in the liquid, releasing their juices. Once the liquid cools, you can add in the lemon juice and some ice, put on your best Regency era mien, and sip away!