Growing up I have memories of picking crabs on the back porch, shucking corn outside, picking strawberries from the garden and summer fairs and festivals. One of the foods I strongly associate with my childhood is the Lemon Peppermint Stick. Yes it is exactly as it sounds, a Lemon with a Peppermint Stick inserted inside.For years I had somehow forgotten about the Lemon Peppermint Stick until a few summers ago when I went to the Flower Mart, a local festival in Baltimore City a few blocks from my office and I saw a stand selling them. I quickly moved to that side of the street and stood in line with dozens of others who love this sweet and sour treat and handed over my $2, and began sucking on the peppermint stick and instantly all the memories of childhood came rushing back to me.
The Lemon Peppermint Stick is made by slicing the top off of a lemon, inserting a knife gently into the center of the flesh and then shoving the peppermint stick straight down to the bottom of the lemon. So simple anyone can do it. The beauty of this treat happens when you start sucking on the stick as if it were a straw. The lemon juice gets drawn up through the peppermint stick creating a minty sweet but bitter treat.
So next time you are at a street fair and you see people walking around with lemons keep your eyes peeled for this fun summer treat, or if you don't want to wait to find one go to your grocery store and try it out on your own! Just be sure to get a real peppermint stick, that is about 1/2"-3/4" diameter and appears a little more chalky than slick like a candy cane.
I hope you get to enjoy my childhood memories sometime this season.
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