A couple of years ago a friend came back from Thailand with an easy recipe for a cold lime drink that’s a little salty.  She said it was a popular drink there, given the extreme heat.

I’m grilling some chicken this weekend, and it’s supposed to be nice and sunny, so I thought I’d make some of this in place of my usual iced tea.

While sweet-salty-sour combinations are desirable in Thailand, here, well, there’s still a bit of pioneering involved.  Not everyone will like this, and I wasn’t sure I liked it until I raided the fridge for the pitcher a few times.  In addition to the salt, there’s a little bitterness from the rinds. 

I make the drink as written and then add extra ice and water to my glass.

Give this a try and see what you think.  Set yourself up somewhere under a patio umbrella with a good book and sip away.

Thai Salty Limeade
   makes about 5 cups

1 cup fresh lime juice (squeeze from limes that have been rinsed well)
all the lime halves the juice was squeezed out of
1 quart water
3/4 cup sugar
pinch good sea salt or Kosher salt

1).  Place lime halves in a glass bowl
2).  Boil water, sugar and salt together for 2 or 3 minutes
3).  Pour over lime halves and allow to sit for no more than 5 minutes (longer and the drink will be very bitter)
4).  Strain mixture into a glass pitcher, squeezing lime halves to obtain the liquid they absorbed
5).  Strain lime juice into pitcher and mix
6).  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and serve over lots of ice, adding more water, as desired