How To Make Even Better Homemade Lemonade

I used to be that person who made homemade lemonade almost every single week during the warmer months (which, when I was that person, was most of the year!) That version of me was my Southern Californian self, who used to buy massive lemons larger than my fist from the Westwood Farmers Market in Los Angeles every Thursday after class and turn them into something bright, refreshing, citrussy and sometimes herbal to sip over ice each day after I’d made it back down the hill to my apartment from classes.

Now, I still make homemade lemonade, but in a way that suits decade older me and my working schedule a lot better: today I’m going to teach you three simple tricks to make the best homemade lemonade you’ve ever had. While I still love my Lavender Vodka Lemonade when I’m looking to treat myself in the height of summer, and my Cucumber Mint Lemonade (how could you not love naturally bright green lemonade??) this is the lemonade recipe you’ll find in my fridge basically all summer.

So, what have I done to this lemonade to make it super excellent?

Add Limes

What tastes brighter, zingy-er and even more refreshing than a lemon? A lime! Now this is a lemonade recipe and is made mostly from lemon juice, but by adding in a little bit of lime we’re really helping the lemon flavours sing.

Add Zest

Okay, so we’ve added lime, but on both fruits as it stands we’re usually wasting the zest when we make lemonade, which is where you’ll find most of the tart, zingy flavour. But infusing some of the zests into the sugar syrup that sweetens this lemonade recipe, we’re adding an extra burst of flavour.

Add Sparkling Water

The third thing I’ve done to this lemonade recipe to make it extra special is made this lemonade as a sort of concentrate, as in, I’ve not added any extra water to it at the point of production. This way, by making a super lemon and lime juice-heavy zest infused syrup, I can keep it in a bottle in the fridge door, pour a good measure over ice when I fancy a nice cool, refreshing sip, then top it off with sparkling water from the soda stream for a little extra effervescence.

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Best Homemade Lemonade

• Author: Rachel Phipps
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes (plus cooling time)
• Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
• Category: Drinks
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This delicious homemade lemonade recipe uses both the zest and juice of lemon and limes, and can be diluted as you want with sparkling water – great to make ahead and super refreshing to enjoy with lots of ice on a hot summers day!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 200ml (3/4 cups) freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 4 lemons)
• 50ml (1/4 cups) freshly squeezed lime juice (approx. 2 small limes)
• zest of 1 lemon
• zest of 1/2 lime
• 60g (2 oz) granulated sugar 
• chilled sparkling water
• ice cubes

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Instructions

1. Zest 1 lemon and half a lime and set the zest aside.
2. Squeeze all the citrus and combine half the juice with the sugar and the reserved zest in a small saucepan. Set over a medium heat and stir for 5 minutes or so until all the sugar is dissolved, before setting the syrup aside to cool completely. 
3. Strain the zest from the syrup and combine it with the juice. Chill until needed for up to 3 days.
4. Mix the lemonade syrup, in a 3:2 ratio with sparkling water and serve over ice, adjusting to suit your personal tastes. 

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