Homemade Lemonade

Homemade lemonade is a favorite summer tradition here in the south, second only to sweet tea.

Lemons are available throughout the United States, year-round, and with just three ingredients, a little squeeze and a stir, you’ll be puckering up to a glass in no time.

Improvising:
By adding just a few ingredients to the base recipe below – either to the sugar syrup or to the finished lemonade – you can create dozens of lemony variations. And because lemon pairs well with a variety of savory and sweet ingredients, you can improvise with confidence:

• Ginger Lemonade: add 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger root to the saucepan while dissolving the sugar.
• Ginger Basil Lemonade: add 10 fresh basil leaves, torn, and two tablespoons of freshly grated ginger root to the saucepan while dissolving the sugar.
• Summer Fruit Lemonade: add 2 cups fresh summer fruit puree to the finished lemonade, such as blueberry, watermelon or peach.
• Pink lemonade: add 1/4 cup of grenadine to the finished lemonade.
• Peppercorn Lemonade: pour 8 ounces of lemonade into a glass and grind freshly cracked black pepper into the glass to taste.
• Frozen Lemonade: pour lemonade into a large glass or ceramic roasting pan (do not use a metal pan) and freeze for two hours, stirring every 30 minutes with a fork. Mixture will be slushy. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth but still slushy.
• Cucumber Lemonade: add 1/2 cup of pureed cucumber (seeds removed before pureeing) to the finished lemonade.
• Sweet Tea Lemonade: mix equal parts of sweet tea and the finished lemonade into a glass.

Homemade Lemonade

Yields: approx 8 (8-oz) servings
Allergy info: soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free


Ingredients:
3 cups fresh lemon juice; about 20 lemons at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 cups filtered or bottled spring water (without minerals)

Directions:
Heat water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, or place in the refrigerator to chill.

While the sugar syrup is cooling, juice the lemons. Let lemons come to room temperature. Roll lemons on the counter or table with the palm of your hand with a bit of pressure to burst the juice cells within the lemon – this will yield more juice from your lemons and make easier work of juicing.

Squeeze the lemons over a sieve to catch seeds, or juice directly into a bowl and then strain for pulp and seeds. Combine the sugar syrup and lemon juice in a 2-quart container and stir vigorously.

Pour into glasses with plenty of ice and garnish with mint, sliced lemons, or stems of bruised lemongrass and sugar cane.