Chili-Coriander Camp Lemonade
Lemon powder, dried chili, and coriander seed. A sharp cold drink from a bag of dust.
- calories
- 60
- weight
- 0.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 67
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 500 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- No cook
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Powdered lemon juice or true lemon crystals | 3 tbsp | stands in for 150 ml fresh juice |
|---|---|---|
| Maple sugar or brown sugar | 4 tbsp | maple syrup works if you already carry it |
| Dried green chili flakes | 1/2 tsp | start low, it climbs |
| Coriander seed | 1 tsp | whole, cracked at camp |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tbsp | optional, mostly for smell |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Crack the coriander seed against a rock or with the base of your bottle. Whole seed gives you nothing.
- Put the cracked seed, chili flakes, and dried cilantro in the bottle with the sugar and a splash of water. Shake hard for thirty seconds to pull the oils out.
- Add the lemon powder, the salt, and cold water to 500 ml. Shake again.
- Let it sit ten minutes, then drink. Longer sitting means more heat.
- Strain through a bandana into a cup if you do not want seeds in your teeth.
The original is a muddled drink: fresh chili, fresh cilantro, lemon juice, soda water. None of that survives a pack. Dried chili flakes and cracked coriander seed carry the same two flavors in a form that weighs nothing and does not rot, and lemon powder replaces the juice at a fraction of the load.
The cracking and the shake matter more than the sitting time. Both chili heat and coriander aroma live in oils that only come out under pressure, so the sugar-and-splash shake at the start is doing the work a cocktail shaker would. Skip it and you have sour sugar water with debris in it.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one small bag or straight into an empty drink-mix tube. The sugar is the bulk; measure it at home so you are not pouring by feel.
Variations
- Add the powder to a bottle of carbonated water if you are car camping and have one in the cooler.
- Half a scoop of electrolyte mix turns it into something worth drinking after a hot climb.
- A shot of tequila or gin at the picnic table, if that is the trip.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/kos/lemonade-med-koriander-og-gronn-chili