When life gives you lemons in the summer of 2021, there’s only one thing to do: slice them, squeeze them and turn them into creamy (or cloudy) lemonade.
This simple riff on Brazilian lemonade calls for only two ingredients: juicy lemons and the product that brings the magic to any party (and does away with the need for preparing a traditional sugar syrup base): sweetened condensed milk.
But is that clever twist enough for the drink to take on Dalgona coffee’s title as the trendiest drink around?
See it
A quick scroll on social media suggests the drink is certainly having a moment. TikTok is awash with the clinking of ice-filled lemonade glasses, with the hashtag #creamylemonade notching up about 21.7 million views and counting.
I liked how fast it was to make compared to regular lemonade
Layal Takieddine,
social media chef
Over on Instagram, food-and-drink-focused grids are awash with carefully styled images of pitchers brimming with the pastel beverage.
So, having established that the frothy blended lemon drink is trending, is it actually worth the hype? TikToker Layal Takieddine (@geminibakes), from the UAE, says yes.
“I tried the recipe out the day I saw it and really liked how fast it was to make compared to regular lemonade,” says Takieddine, who has previously experimented with other TikTok recipe favourites feta pasta, pesto eggs and pasta chips.
She says that the video has proved particularly popular with her 153,000 followers, garnering some 15,000 views across TikTok and Instagram.
Try it
If you’re keen for a taste of the action, the good news is that it couldn’t be quicker or easier to whip up this creamy concoction. You do need to get the balance of citrus and sweetness right, though, which means adding just enough condensed milk to provide a rich, milkshake-like element without overpowering the refreshing tang from the lemon juice.
After a little experimentation, we settled on a ratio of two lemons to three tablespoons of condensed milk per drink. Whisk or blend this mix vigorously to combine, then pour into an ice-filled glass and top up with a dash of sparkling water for a final fizzy flourish.
For best results, and to get maximum juice out of your lemons, begin by selecting fruit that feels soft, yielding and a little on the heavy side. Applying pressure with the palm of your hands and rolling the lemons back and forth on a chopping board will help to loosen the citrus membranes and make them easier to squeeze.
While the addition of lemon juice doesn’t cause the dairy to curdle as we first feared, the drink does have a tendency to separate, so you’ll want to mix it up just before serving. And speaking of serving, the simplicity of the recipe and its short ingredients list calls out for customisation; we can’t help but think that a lime-forward version would be rather lovely and a few muddled strawberries or peach slices would make the drink next-level good.
Rate it
Our verdict? This is a trend worth trying. Creamy lemonade is tart without being acerbic, rich but not cloying and sipping away on a chilled glass might just be the perfect antidote to the sticky summer heat.
Preparing a glass or two will leave you in possession of an open can of condensed milk, but that’s more bonus than bane. There’s certainly no need for the sweet-sticky stuff to go to waste; simply transfer to a sealable container and it will keep in the fridge for a month.
From there, condensed milk can be used in all manner of different ways: add a splash to your morning coffee in place of semi-skimmed and the day will instantly feel more decadent, or take this as the nudge you need to make creamy, iced Vietnamese coffee (another perfect hot weather drink, if ever there were one).
Alternatively, the simple route to home-made caramel sauce or easy dulce de leche begins with condensed milk; simmer in a small pan over a low heat, stirring every so often, until thick, unctuous and golden brown. Trickle over ice cream and you’ll have zero regrets.
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Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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