Homemade Lemonade

Homemade Lemonade- Fresh squeezed lemons, sugar, water and a pinch of salt is all you need to be drinking this classic summertime beverage. 

Don't let another summer go by without making your own fresh squeezed lemonade. At least once, k? It's a bit more labor intensive than buying it from the store. I highly recommend homemade lemonade if you're hosting a BBQ, a shower or any event that you feel like serving lemonade at. 

Begin by slicing lemons, kinda thin, but not too thin. Mash them with a potato masher to release as much juice and pulp as you can. The lemon juice will mesh with the sugar and it will begin to form a bit of a syrup consistency. This is good!

Once the mixture has thickened, which takes about 5 minutes, then I used a ladle to scoop out the liquid and lemons. Pour mixture over a tight mesh sieve and press down on the lemons to keep squeezing out the juice. Do this until all the mixture is drained. The lemons can be thrown away at this point. Add approximately 4 cups of cold water to the lemonade and chill in the fridge. If you have lemons leftover slice some to add to the pitcher for a touch of pretty and a tad more flavor. 

If you'd like to double the recipe and make ice cubes with some of the lemonade that will help to not water down the pitcher or glasses of lemonade. 

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Homemade Lemonade

Ingredients

• 12 lemons sliced thin
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• pinch of salt
• 5 cups water

Instructions

• Mash lemons, sugar and salt in a large pot.
• Do this for about 5 minutes.
• Use a ladle and scoop out the lemon mixture into a sieve which is over a large measuring cup or pitcher.
• Continue doing this until all the lemons and juice are out of the pot.
• While scooping the lemons out don't forget to squeeze out extra juice while the lemons are in the sieve.
• Add 5 cups of cold water and allow to chill in the fridge.

Notes

I have cooked the mashed lemons and juice on the stove until it was starting to simmer. This step is not necessary, but it does help with bring out the flavor a bit more. This step is optional, but it doesn't take much longer to do.

If you're interested in a single serve fresh lemonade recipe click here.