Pea flower lemonade is a perfect refreshing drink. The amazing color change that happens will be interesting to kids and adults. This simple lemonade has added extract of pea flowers aka Sangupushpam in Tamil. The purple variety is used and it imparts a beautiful blue color when soaked in warm water.
I have seen this plant grow on fences and never new I can do this fun drink when I was young. This flower has very good Ayurvedic importance. But one thing to keep in mind......the taste of the pure flower extract. When I tried it last year, I must admit that the hot water extract tasted blah! But when you add to lemonade the taste gets masked and it is palatable. Now that's a two in one - a refreshing lemonade and some health benefits! It is also used in Thai cuisine to make colored coconut milk sticky rice.
 |
| Courtesy- Pinterest |
It becomes a lot interesting when you add a little bit of science to this lemonade. Lemon juice is acidic. When the blue extract of pea flower is added to lemon juice, the blue color changes to purple. This color change due to pH change will be very interesting to kids and they would to do this experiment at home and enjoy the drink at the same time. This is guaranteed as my kids tried with different types of lemons, for that matter many citrus varieties. Younger kids can try this as summer project, provide adult supervision as needed. The strength of the extract and lemon juice can be varied too and they can perform great experiments at home. It sure is fun!
This color changing lemonade can be made in two ways - either add the pea flower extract to lemon juice or vice versa. When you add, you can see two layers of color.
When kids see the color change visually, they will love to do more experiments. Here are the video links.
I am linking this to the Summer Cooler's event for Srivalli's Blogging Marathon. We post for three days a week for four weeks a month.
I am also linking this to Sundays on Silverado, and Happiness is Homemade.
Ingredients
Serves - 2
For pea flower tea
Dried Pea flower - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup
For lemon juice
Lemon juice - 1/4 cup
Water - 1 cup
Sugar - 5-6 tbsp
To assemble
Crushed ice - 1 cup
Method
Add warm water to the dried pea flower in a bowl. In a few minutes, the blue color will infuse. Let it steep for a couple of minutes. With a spoon, gently squeeze the flowers, remove, and discard them. Mix the lemon juice, water, and sugar till sugar completely dissolves. In two glasses, divide the lemon juice equally. Add half cup ice in each. Slowly add the pea flower extract.
Serve.
Ritu Tangri says
Loved to see your description. Felt like I was an 8th grader doing ph experiment in a laboratory
Srivalli says
Seriously sinful!..love that delicate colour and everything about this recipe..and totally love that explanation!...cooking is all science...
Srivalli says
Seriously sinful!..love that delicate colour and everything about this recipe..and totally love that explanation!...cooking is all science...
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
That color is just brilliant! I can't take my eyes off the screen and just for the color, I would be making this so often.
Archana says
Love it! This is a delicious lemonade and the colors make it interesting.
Archana says
Love it! This is a delicious lemonade and the colors make it interesting.
Harini R says
OMG! I never knew that we could use the pea flower to make lemonade. The colors are stunning.
Narmadha says
Lemonade looks so refreshing and attractive with that color of pea flower. So delightful summer treat.