If you’re looking for a refreshing drink post-workout or to ring in Spring, this easy homemade lemonade hits the spot. It does require a bit of time and some effort on your part, and lemons, of course, but it’s well worth it in the end. With only three ingredients, it is a healthier option than most store-bought lemonades. And homemade food is just better, in most cases.
The original recipe is from Divas Can Cook’s Easy Homemade Lemonade. I’ve followed most of the steps but adapted the portioning of the ingredients.
EASY HOMEMADE LEMONADE
INGREDIENTS:
• 6-8 lemons, depending on the size, plus more for garnishing if desired. I have never garnished our lemonade.
• 1/2 – 1 cup sugar (I cut the sugar down by half from the original recipe)
• 6 cups water, divided
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Wash lemons thoroughly.
2. Roll lemons firmly on a hard surface until they become soft. This will make them easier to juice.
3. Zest 2-3 lemons. Set aside.
Our zester needs to be replaced as this was all the zest I could get from 2 lemons. Still, the smell and the taste it added to the pot of sugar water was adequate.
4. In a pot over medium heat, add sugar, lemon zest and 2 cups of water.
This time I added 3/4 cup sugar. I don’t mind a tart lemonade, but our kids will usually add more sugar to their individual portion.
5. Simmer lightly for about 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved and the mixture has a light yellow colour. Do not boil!
6. Remove from heat.
7. Juice the lemons.
8. Strain the lemon juice into a large pitcher.
I usually juice the lemons into a glass pyrex measuring cup. This is how much I juiced from five lemons… I decided to only use five because they were rather large and I wanted to save some for this cake.
9. Strain the sugar mixture into the large pitcher.
10. Add in 4 cups of cold water.
11. Taste to make sure it’s not too sweet (or sour) for ya. If too sweet, add more water.
12. Fill chilled glasses with ice and pour in the lemonade.
13. Garnish each glass with sliced lemons.
I skip this step.
14. Store pitcher in the refrigerator.
Ideally, I’d have poured this into a glass pitcher, but the blue plastic one is all we have at the moment. Guess that gives me an excuse to go shopping for a new one! This one from Amazon is along the lines of what I’d want, but the handle seems a bit too prominent that it’d be a tight squeeze in our fridge!
NOTES (from Divas Can Cook):
~ TIPS ~ Serve in glasses filled with ice! Garnish the individual glasses with slices of lemons as opposed to floating the sliced lemons in the entire pitcher since this can give the lemonade a bitter, peel taste if left too long. Lemonade ice cubes are a great way to keep the lemonade from getting watered down, although I’ve never had lemonade to last that long in a glass.
I made this homemade lemonade in about a half hour, just in time to put in the fridge to chill before our two youngest got home from school. Of course, both of them added a spoonful or two of sugar. We’ll see how Matt and Whitney like it when they are home from badminton practice.
