Lemonade

Hot, lazy days of summer always send me off looking for thirst-quenching cold drinks.

One of my favorites is old-fashioned homemade lemonade.  It’s cool and refreshing.

Making the concentrate for the lemonade is really easy and I think it tastes ever-so-much better than bought lemonade.

Cool, refreshing homemade lemonade
Cool, refreshing homemade lemonade

Lemonade Concentrate

Ingredients:

1 cup water
¾ cup super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar)
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (apx 3-4 lemons), strained
1-2 tbsp grated lemon rind

Lemon-flavored sparkling water to top up

Method:

Squeeze lemons and strain juice.

Assemble ingredients.

Boil water and sugar for 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat and cool for apx. 30 minutes.

Add lemon juice and grated lemon rind. Stir.  Let sit at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours to allow flavour to strengthen.

Strain lemon rind from concentrate.

Pour into bottle.

To serve: Pour ½ to ⅔ cup of lemon concentrate into tall glass and top up with lemon-flavored sparkling water.

Add ice cubes or crushed ice if desired and decorate with a sprig of mint and a slice or two of lemon.

Keep concentrate refrigerated.

Yield: Apx. 2 cups

Lemonade is a very versatile drink – it’s great for picnics, sitting on the front porch,  at afternoon tea, at the beach, or anywhere for that matter.

Is lemonade part of your summer?

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