Best Homemade Lemonade Recipes

HOMEMADE LEMONADE CONCENTRATE

Steps:

• 1. Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium high, stirring frequently. As soon as sugar has dissolved (after boiling), remove from heat and allow to cool. Do not overcook as you will end up with candy instead of syrup!
• 2. Meanwhile, juice the lemons until you have 1 1/2 cups of juice. Strain out the seeds and as much pulp as you wish.
• 3. After the syrup has cooled somewhat, add the juice and stir until completely combined. Store frozen in airtight freezer-safe plastic container (metal will adversely affect the flavor of the juice, and glass can be brittle when cold). Keeps 9 - 12 months if kept frozen solid and away from air (air = freezer burn!).
• 4. VARIATIONS FOR CONCENTRATE: * Use other fresh juices such as orange or grapefruit in place of some or all of the lemons (adjust sugar as necessary--remember, lemons are usually more sour than many fruits and thus would require more sugar...unless you're adding grapefruit, in which case, leave it all in!). * Finely zest some lemon peel into syrup while bringing to the boil - maybe half a teaspoon or so. Depending on the size and quantity of the zest, you may want to strain this before serving to guests. *If you want to kick up the yellow coloring a tad, as well as add a little taste of something indefinable, put a small pinch of saffron into the pot while bringing the syrup to a boil. (I don't know about you, but I have a box of saffron threads going stale in my cupboard because I bought it for one recipe, long ago, and there just isn't that much call for it in other recipes!) Be sure to crush the threads thoroughly. If you've left the pulp or zest in your mix, you won't need to strain out the saffron; but if your lemonade is free of all flotsam then you may want to strain it out when you pour the prepared lemonade into your serving glass.
• 5. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING LEMONADE FROM CONCENTRATE Defrost concentrate.* In a pitcher or glass, combine equal parts concentrate with water. Add ice if desired (see #7 below) and enjoy! * Do not re-freeze after thawing; store unused portions in refrigerator! If you plan to make one (8 oz.) glass at a time, I suggest freezing concentrate in half-cup portions. Zipper freezer bags work well for this. Be sure to remove as much air as possible without spilling syrup. Use a sturdy walled freezer-safe container to corral the bags until frozen solid, or place horizontally on cookie sheet and stack later when frozen--just be sure all the zippers are snapped tightly closed!
• 6. VARIATIONS FOR PREPARED LEMONADE *Use cranberry juice and fizzy water instead of plain water. *Use prepared tea instead of water. *Add a shot of your preferred alcoholic beverage to glass before serving: light rum, gin, tequila, vodka, etc. *Float a sprig of fresh mint or rosemary in glass before serving.
• 7. GOURMET ICE CUBES Freeze small fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, cherries or fraises des bois (tiny wild strawberries) in individual ice cubes: Fill reservoirs half full with water or fruit juice and add cleaned fruit (it will float). Freeze solid. If you wish, once solid you can top off each reservoir with a dab of additional water or juice to cover more of the fruit. Return to freezer until solid. At this point you can remove ice cubes from tray to make more ice cubes. Store cubes in airtight zipper bags; remove as much air as possible from bag before returning to freezer. Remember: water DOES evaporate while frozen! This is part of the "freezer burning" process that makes old frozen food taste bad even though it's not technically spoiled. To help your frozen food stay fresh longer while frozen, keep it away from air!

PERFECT HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the sugar and 4 cups water until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot. Allow to cool, and then place into a large drink dispenser or jug. Add 2 gallons cold water, the lemon juice and lemon slices and stir to combine. Refrigerate and allow to chill completely.
• Serve over ice.

HOMEMADE BLACKBERRY LEMONADE

Steps:

• Heat 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Let cool.
• Place blackberries and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a blender. Blend until smooth.
• Combine simple syrup, blended blackberries, remaining 4 cups of water, and lemon juice. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a pitcher and pour lemonade into the pitcher. Discard solids. Serve over ice.

HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• Blitz the lemons in a food processor or blender with half of the sugar, some ice cubes and 500ml/18fl oz water. Strain the juice into a jug and reserve.
• Tip the lemon pulp back into the food processor. Add the rest of the sugar, more ice cubes and 500ml/18fl oz water and blitz again. Strain this into the jug with the reserved juice (discard the pulp). Serve with lots of ice.

HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat sugar and water over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Stir in lemon zest strips. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool slightly., Stir in lemon juice; cover and refrigerate until chilled. Discard lemon peel. Pour mixture into a large pitcher; gradually stir in club soda.

SUGAR FREE HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• Stir together sugar and 1/2 cup boiling water until sugar dissolves.
• Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice, and 5 cups cold water.
• Pour into a 2 quart pitcher.
• Chill 8 hours.
• Serve over ice.

AUNTIE A'S HOMEMADE LEMONADE - YUMMMMY!

Steps:

• Mix juice& sugar, then add 7 1/2-8 quarts of water.
• YUMMY!
• This one's hard to beat- and simple too!
• You can freeze the lemon juice to make this anytime of the year!
• ENJOY!

OLD FASHIONED HOMEMADE LEMONADE CONCENTRATE

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together well.
• Pour boiling water over mixture.
• Stir shortly.
• Let stand overnight.
• Strain mixture and then bottle.
• When you wish to drink it, add the concentrate to water to taste.

HOMEMADE PINK LEMONADE

Steps:

• Pare the zest from the lemons with a peeler, removing as little white pith as possible - cut away any pith you can from the strips. Juice the lemons and mix the juice, zest, sugar and raspberries with 1.2 litres of boiling water. Let cool, then sieve, pressing through juice with the back of a spoon. Add sugar to taste and chill in jugs. To serve, add a few lemon slices, raspberries and lots of ice.

DELICIOUS HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• Mix together all three ingredients in a jug and enjoy!

CLASSIC HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• Strain lemon juice through a fine sieve into a pitcher. Add sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Stir in water.

HOMEMADE RHUBARB LEMONADE

Steps:

• Stir 1 1/4 cups water, sugar, rhubarb, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer to the consistency of syrup, about 6 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a Mason jar; discard solids. Chill, covered, at least 1 hour.
• Stir chilled rhubarb syrup, remaining 4 cups water, and lemon juice in a large pitcher. Chill until ready to serve. Pour into ice-filled glasses. Garnish with fresh rhubarb stalks.

HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool.
• In a punch bowl or large container, combine the lemon juice, sugar syrup, remaining 4 cups water, and ice. Stir well to combine. Thinly slice remaining lemon, and add to lemonade. Serve.

HOMEMADE LAVENDER LEMONADE

Steps:

• Mix together cold water, lemon juice, simple syrup, and lavender in a large pitcher. Place in refrigerator and allow to develop in flavor and color, 1 to 4 hours.

HOMEMADE LEMONADE CONCENTRATE

Steps:

• Wash the lemons well and cut them into thick slices.
• Put these in a large saucepan with the water and sugar.
• Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Keep covered in the fridge for 24 hours.
• Strain, pour into a clean jar, cover and refrigerate.
• You now have a concentrate that needs to be mixed with water: one part concentrate to three parts water.
• Serve with lots of ice.

SOUTH AFRICAN HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• The secret to perfect lemonade is to make a simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in warm water so that it's dispersed evenly instead of sinking to the bottom. So if you have a stove handy, heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir until its completely dissolved; otherwise just stir very well.
• Extract the juice from the lemons. I use my Granny's juicer but you can do this anyway you like.
• Pour the juice and sugar water into a jug, throw in the raisins and leave for a while, overnight if possible, to allow them to start fermenting and give it a fizz.
• Before serving add about two cups of cold water and a bag of ice to the jug - more or less, depending on how strong you want it to be. If the lemonade is still a little sweet for anyone's taste, chuck a slice or two of lemon into the glass.

HOMEMADE YELLOW OR PINK LEMONADE

Steps:

• Strain lemon juice into a pitcher and mix with sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Add water; stir again until well combined. For pink lemonade, stir in cranberry juice.

HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• First take the lemons and use a lemon juicer to make lemon juice.
• Then pour the water in to the pitcher and then do the same with the lemon juice.
• Pour in the sugar and ice and mix.

GINA'S HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• Make a simple syrup by adding the sugar and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Add a gallon of cold water and the lemon juice to a large glass pitcher. Add the simple syrup and the lemon slices. Stir well. Pour the lemonade into tall glasses filled with ice. Garnish the rims with lemon wedges and enjoy icy cold!

HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Steps:

• Place sugar and 2 cups of water in a sauce pan.
• Heat until sugar dissolves Pour sugar water, lemon juice and remaining water into a gallon pitcher.
• Chill for several hours or overnight.