| The first time I ever saw this combination of flavors I was slightly put off by it. It actually took a little coaxing from my young coworker who said it was her “absolute favorite” before I tried it. Boy, was I glad I did! The Peppermint Lemon (often referred to as a “Lemon Stick” in its founding region of Maryland) is truly a unique childhood experience not to be missed!
It’s a remarkably simple process, actually. Cut a hole in the side of a lemon, and plunge a soft peppermint stick into the opening.Then suck on the other end of the stick until the lemon juice is pulled up into the peppermint stick and the flavors combine into the most amazing sweet-sour treat ever!
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You’ll Need:- bring a lemon for each child (including we 18+ “children who want to partake)
- one sharp knife
- a box of SOFT Peppermint sticks (two common brands are Bob’s and Brach’s) – be sure the box is marked as “Soft Peppermint Sticks,” as candy canes will not work for this.
- napkins for sticky hands
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How to Do it: - Cut a round hole in the side of the lemon about 5/8 or ¾ of an inch in diameter. Some people prefer to cut the end off of the lemon and hold it upright instead.
- Press the Soft Peppermint Stick down into the lemon through the hole. Wiggle it around in the lemon to get the acid in the fruit to begin reacting with the sugar in the peppermint stick. Once the end of the stick s soaked in lemon juice, I like to pull it out, flip it upside-down, and put it back in. Then both ends of the stick are soaked in lemon juice and the sour, delicious lemon is easier to suck up into the peppermint stick.
- Suck on the peppermint stick until you can taste both flavors come together. First timers need to know that they won’t get the amazing flavor combination on the first sip but keep trying. It takes 1 to 2 minutes before you get the full effect.
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Tips: - Because this treat can get messy consider putting a paper cupcake wrapper under each lemon. That makes it a lot easier to set the treat down, too. I like to serve it outdoors, where I don’t mind drips.
- Look for the Soft Peppermint Sticks at your local dollar store or Christmas section of a discount store. Though this originated a summer treat, it’s much easier to find soft peppermint sticks around the year-end holidays.
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The bonus of this treat is that there’s very little artificial stuff – just sugar, peppermint oil, a tiny amount of red food dye embedded in the peppermint stick and lemon juice.
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