FOOD NEWS
Ina Garten's 'Dangerous' Margaritas Have One Secret Ingredient
By Jessica Fleming-Montoya
If you're after the perfect margarita recipe, Ina Garten makes one that she describes as "dangerous," and it's all thanks to the addition of one ingredient: lemon juice.
In a Barefoot Contessa episode featuring her version, she said, "It's really traditional, but I make it with a twist — I do it with lime and lemon, and I think it's really good."
Garten says she uses the juice of one lemon for every ½ cup of fresh lime juice in her recipe, although you could also go for a 1-to-1 ratio if you want a stronger lemon flavor.
While limes tend to have a more bitter flavor, lemons have a slightly different flavor profile that adds more noticeable sour notes to balance the taste of your margarita.
Lemons also tend to have a slightly higher sugar content, which makes for a sweeter margarita and can help offset some of the sharp notes of the tequila in the drink.
It's not just the juice of the lemon that can add a little something different to this cocktail. You can also upgrade your margaritas with a bit of citrus zest to add complexity.