Food - Drink
The Sweet Accident That May Have Led To The Creation Of Pink Lemonade
By STEPHANIE FRIEDMAN
Most of us love drinking lemonade on hot summer days, because the refreshing acidity of lemon can help you feel hydrated. While the same holds true for pink lemonade, recipes vary, and while the pink lemonade you enjoy may be flavored with fruit or simply dyed pink, the possible original recipe had quite an interesting flavor added.
The origins of this drink are contested, but one popular (and strange) story claims that circus vendor Pete Conklin colored his lemonade pink using a performer's pink tights. However, we're focused on Henry E. Allott, who ran away from home as a teenager to join the circus, and his 1912 obituary credits him with inventing pink lemonade.
Allegedly, Allott dropped red cinnamon candies into a tub of regular lemonade, turning it pink, and the hue made his lemonade incredibly popular. Today, modern pink lemonade may be colored with red fruit juices like strawberry or cranberry juice, but the drink most commonly gets its hue from a bit of red food coloring.