How does the saying go? When life gives you kids and a sticky, hot summer day, make lemonade?

It was indeed the quintessential lemonade day yesterday when I set out to conduct a taste test with one of my favorite just-turned-8-year-olds. She is a girl with a refined and discerning palate, and so I knew I’d be in for a challenge when serving up three varieties of lemonade in a blind taste test. She was accompanied by her enthusiastic 5-year-old brother and a fellow 8-year-old cohort who happens to be equally sophisticated when discussing culinary endeavors. These are girls who will carry on a high-level conversation about the Food Network. Really?

They were eager to begin. And they wanted this to be official. Of course, they had seen similar tasting procedures on the Food Network, so I didn’t want to disappoint. This was no professional tasting lab, but I aimed for order: I set up three columns of lemonade in clear unmarked glasses from three different sources. I gave each of them a reporter’s notepad–because they asked for it. I just wanted to know which lemonade they liked… but they wanted to record their taste buds’ reactions. I acquiesced. Let’s make it official!

The kids methodically began with Lemonade #1 and worked their way through, as if sitting for a college entrance exam. They cleansed their palates with Walkers shortbread cookies (double the sugar equals double the fun!). They were careful to not rush through the sample-size portions, but I sensed they were excited to finish their swishing and swirling, puckering and swallowing, and share with me their findings:

Test #1: Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade (from Whole Foods)

• Taster 1: “Okay, sweet, a bit tangy. Pretty good.”
• Taster 2: “It’s sweet and a little sour. It’s kind of tangy. I would have it at the pool.”
• Taster 3: “I like it. It’s sweet and not sour to me. It doesn’t taste like real lemons.”

Test #2: Homemade Lemonade (Food Network / Paula Deen)

• Taster 1: “Sour, looks pulpy. Okay, not sweet.”
• Taster 2: “Kind of sour. The first one was better. A little pulpy. Good but not perfect.”
• Taster 3: “It’s too sweet. I like the pulp. I would choose it for a picnic.”

Test #3: Country Time Lemonade (Powder mix)

• Taster 1: “Bland, sour, tangy. Clear tasting.”
• Taster 2: “Not very tasty. Kind of sour. It’s cool.”
• Taster 3: “I don’t really taste the lemon. I wouldn’t choose it.”

The results? Santa Cruz was the unanimous winner among the kids. But the adults, who participated as an afterthought, hands-down preferred the homemade, recipe #2. Here’s to hot days and summer lemonade.