We’re all familiar with the concept of false advertising these days. But you might not always expect this behavior from a small business. Either way, a “fresh-squeezed” lemonade stand gets caught using supermarket juice and garden hose water as ingredients.
TikTok user Sarah Smith (@musicalnerd234) posted a video on Saturday from her local carnival. In the video, she captures a carnival worker preparing the evening’s lemonade. Except the lemonade isn’t exactly homemade.
In the on-screen text, Sarah writes, “Just watched her pour it from a bottle and then is now topping it up with water from a garden hose. Fresh squeezed lemonade [loudly crying face emoji].”
Viewers react to the ‘fresh-squeezed lemonade’
The video has amassed more than 387,000 views as of Wednesday morning. In the comments, users said they’ve seen this or worse at their local carnival grounds.
“I’ve seen a vendor selling aguas frescas, but were pouring in that Klass powder. $10 for 16 oz,” wrote one user.
“Bro, I paid $8 for a cup today,” wrote a second user.
“I will take one semi-homemade lemonade,” joke another user.
However, other users said this might not be what it looks like at first glance.
One carnival worker said, “We pre-squeeze our lemon juice and mix it in by the cup. $6 classic. $7 flavored. 32 oz.”
A second user wrote, “So, when you squeeze lemons, sometimes you put it in a bottle and then add water later so you’re not transporting a splashy mess.”
Someone else said, “That’s how water is provided to the stalls.” Another user backed this up. “That’s how a lot of venue grounds provide water to the food trailers,” they wrote.
How do you make carnival or ‘state fair’ lemonade?
State fair lemonade is exactly what it sounds like: Lemonade you get at the state fair or carnival. It’s known for being a classic recipe, which Chef John of Food Wishes on YouTube recreated in 2020. The main key is using the lemon peels to flavor the sugar.
One Reddit user said the lemonade is so good that “once you have it, all other lemonade is an insult to your taste buds.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Sarah via TikTok comment for comment.
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