Homemade Lemonade

Happy daylight savings!! I am so excited that we get an extra hour of daylight in the evenings now…it’s going to be light when I get home from work! YAY!!

Today was one of those beautiful days that make you feel like summer is just around the corner. Josh’s mum & I spent a huge part of the day in the garden, putting down some of the mountain of mulch that we have after we had trees cut down, weeding and pretty much getting the garden ready for all our spring planting. I love this time of year!

It was so hot that there was only 1 thing I wanted to drink when I came inside. Homemade lemonade!

I’ve never made lemonade before but we have a tree full of lemons so I figured it couldn’t be too hard. I have thought that about other things before and been seriously wrong, ending up with some weird imitation of what I was trying to make but luckily, this time I was right!

Lemons + sugar + water = a perfectly tangy but sweet and refreshing drink. Exactly what I wanted!

The whole process only takes 20 minutes start to finish, and although you need to wait for the lemonade to cool, if you use a glass full of ice and cold water (read: if you are super impatient like me) you don’t even need to wait!

To start with, you make a sugar syrup. Usually sugar syrup is equal parts water to sugar but I find that too sweet. And I want to drink this lemonade allthetime so I figure, the less sugar, the better! I used 3 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. I also added the zest of 3 lemons, just to add a little extra lemon flavour. And it makes it yellow! Bring to the boil so that the sugar dissolves and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the lemon juice and allowing to cool.

And that’s it! Keep the lemonade syrup in the fridge and when you are ready to make it, add 1 part of lemonade to 3 parts water, or adjust to your taste. I used sparkling water which I think made it extra fancy but plain old tap water would be just as good. And I won’t tell if you don’t but I’m pretty sure a nip of vodka would make this a great summery cocktail…shhh adults only!

It’s the perfect drink for a hot summer (or spring) afternoon!

5 from 1 vote

Print

Homemade Lemonade

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

A super refreshing drink perfect for a hot summer day - homemade lemonade! 

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: New Zealand

Keyword: lemonade, lemons, summer

Servings: 20 servings

Calories: 80 kcal

Author: Laura

Ingredients

• 3 cups boiling water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice about 10 lemons
• Zest of 3 lemons
• Ice
• Soda/sparkling/regular water

Instructions

1. Add boiling water, sugar and lemon zest to a medium sized pot.

2. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice.
4. Allow to cool and store in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
5. To make lemonade mix 1 part lemonade to 3 parts water (regular, soda or sparkling)

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Lemonade

Amount Per Serving

Calories 80

% Daily Value*

Potassium 12mg0%

Carbohydrates 20g7%

Sugar 20g22%

Vitamin C 4.7mg6%

Calcium 1mg0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.