WHICH LEMONADES ARE CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE?
LEMONADES - CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE®
Information updated December 2023
Lemonade is the quintessential summer drink. Refreshingly bright, sweet and tangy.
The ingredients for homemade Lemonade are simple >> Lemons, Sugar, Water and possibly Spices. That’s it!
Let’s take a look at what’s in lemonade offerings from Coca-Cola (Minute Maid Lemonade) and PepsiCo (Twister Lemonade), and then we'll compare the Minute Maid to one of our Closest To Homemade Lemonades.
WE LOVE LEMONADE! Lemonade was the #3 most consumed juice drink in 2017 in the U.S. (Source: Statista 2023)
HOMEMADE LEMONADE: There are only three basic ingredients for lemonade: Lemons, Water and Sugar. Since lemons are so tart, lemonade does require a significant amount of added sugar to make the drink that lovely balance of sweet and sour.
MINUTE MAID LEMONADE CAN: Let’s take a look at what’s in a can of Coca-Cola's Minute Maid Lemonade. (Source: Coca-Cola Minute Maid Web site 12/23) We’ll identify those ingredients which are Not In Kitchen™ >> ingredients we would not use if we were making lemonade at home.
COCA-COLA’S MINUTE MAID LEMONADE IN A CAN HAS NINE INGREDIENTS NOT IN KITCHEN™.
Not only does a can of Minute Maid Lemonade contain 11 ingredients (vs. three for homemade lemonade), nine of the 11 ingredients are NIK.
THE NINE MINUTE MAID LEMONADE NIK INGREDIENTS: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Modified Cornstarch, Glycerol Ester of Rosin, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA and Yellow #5.
ONE CAN OF MINUTE MAID LEMONADE CONTAINS 40 GRAMS OF ADDED SUGAR >> MORE ADDED SUGAR THAN THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDS FOR ONE ENTIRE DAY.
The American Heart Association recommends that children consume 25 grams or less of added sugar daily, while women should get no more than 25 grams and men should not get more than 36 grams. (Source: AHA 12/23)
COCA-COLA’S MINUTE MAID LEMONADE IN A CAN HAS FIVE INGREDIENTS BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS MARKET. Whole Foods Market has a list of ingredients which they cite as “Unacceptable in food” >> five of these are in this Minute Maid Lemonade. (Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 12/23)
Minute Maid Lemonade ingredients banned at Whole Foods include High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid, and Artificial Color Yellow #5.
Shown below, PEPSICO OWNS TROPICANA and THE TWISTER BRAND >> WHAT'S IN TWISTER LEMONADE? High Fructose Corn Syrup is the second ingredient in Twister Lemonade from PepsiCo. The product also contains Sugar, but, since we know ingredients are always listed in descending order of amount, we can see that this beverage contains more High Fructose Corn Syrup than it does Sugar. One serving has 28 grams of Added Sugar. (Source: PepsiCo Twister Lemonade on Instacart Web site 12/23)
Note: PepsiCo dropped the Tropicana Branding on this product in 2020.
TWISTER LEMONADE HAS THREE INGREDIENTS NOT IN KITCHEN™: Three of the ingredients in PepsiCo's Twister Lemonade are Not In Kitchen including the High Fructose Corn Syrup, Ascorbic Acid and Natural Flavors. We would not be adding these to lemonade we make at home.
ASCORBIC ACID: According to Harvard Health Publications from Harvard Medical School 12/21, "Ascorbic Acid is a fractionated, crystalline isolate of Vitamin C. It is a laboratory chemical, a corn starch derivative."
Ascorbic Acid is added to increase the Vitamin C content of the beverage while simultaneously acting as a preservative >> consumers generally see the addition of Vitamin C as a benefit which is why it is always noted in parentheses with the Ascorbic Acid >> i.e., Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).
The Twister Lemonade is available only in a 59oz. carton which contains 7 servings and a total of 196 grams of Added Sugar, primarily in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup.
LEMONADE COMPARISON: Let’s compare Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid Lemonade with 11 ingredients to one of the Closest To Homemade brands, Newman’s Own Virgin Lemonade with five ingredients. The added sweetness in the Newman's Own product is from Cane Sugar, while the sweetness in the Minute Maid product is from High Fructose Corn Syrup. (Source for ingredients: Newman’s Own Web site 12/23)
The Newman’s Own Virgin Lemonade contains no ingredients Not In Kitchen. This Lemonade has only five ingredients >> Pure Filtered Water, Cane Sugar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Lemon Pulp and Lemon Oil.
Here’s a quick look at what’s Not In Kitchen in some other popular lemonades: (Sources for ingredients: Brand Web sites 12/23)
CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE LEMONADES: These Closest To Homemade brands below have no Corn Syrups, Chemical Preservatives, Added Flavors, Added Colors or Artificial Sweeteners and no ingredients Not In Kitchen: Newman’s Own Virgin Lemonade and Pink Virgin Lemonade which are sweetened with Cane Sugar (the pink color is naturally derived from Grapes); Maine Root Lemonade in a glass bottle made with Fair Trade Certified Organic Cane Sugar; Harney & Sons Organic Lemonade in a glass bottle with Organic Cane Sugar; Non-GMO Project Verified Natalie’s is sweetened with Cane Sugar, and PUR Cold-Pressed Turmeric Lemonade sweetened with Agave Nectar. (Sources for ingredients: Brand Web sites 12/23)
Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list
In the world of Lemonade:
AVOID: Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Ascorbic Acid, Manufactured Citric Acid, Modified Corn Starch, Sodium Benzoate, Glycerol Ester of Rosin, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors, Natural Flavors and Artificial Sweeteners.
Discover more food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.
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