A Tome to Turn to When Life Gives You Lemons

You may think making lemonade is easy. Not when you’re reading about an 11th-century Egyptian mixture of lemon juice and sugar called qatarmizat, supposedly a proto-lemonade, in “Lemonade With Zest.” I would have thought the Romans knew about it, but it seems that the lemon was not known in those days. This slender volume offers basic ingredients and recipes for lemonades, most of which are sweetened, wisely, with simple syrups. You’ll find slushy, frozen lemonades, some made with melon, sumac, cardamom, coffee and mint, and recipes for sherbets, sorbets, granitas and shrubs, with suggestions for cocktails along the way. — “Lemonade With Zest: 40 Thirst-Quenching Recipes” by April White (Chronicle Books, $16.95)