Spring is finally upon us, and even though the British weather is dicier than a Dungeons & Dragons convention, it won’t stop us from dashing out into the garden and inviting our friends for a Barbecue as soon as there’s a glimpse of sun. While there will be beers and Pimms as far as the eye can see, what can you serve to those who can’t or don’t drink but will be lovely and refreshing on a hot day?
A wonderfully simple, but extremely refreshing, solution is to make your own homemade still Lemonade. It’s literally only three ingredients, and it can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge for that elusive sunny day. It’s wonderfully sweet yet sharp and will quench anyone’s thirst.
Still Lemonade
Print RecipeIngredients
- Juice of 8 Lemons (and the zest of three)
- 180g Caster Sugar
- 1 litre of Boiling Water
- 1 Litre Glass Bottle
Instructions
Before you juice your lemons, zest three of them and put the zest to one side, taking care not to get the white pith. It's a lot easier to zest a lemon before they've been juiced!
Now, juice all of the lemons. While it's always best to make sure you don't get any pips in the juice, it won't matter if you do here as we'll be straining the juice later.
Now add the juice, zest and sugar into a large bowl, and then pour in the litre of boiling water and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.
Leave to cool completely, and then taste the Lemonade. If it's too sharp for you, add in a bit more dissolved sugar. If it's too sweet, then add more lemon juice until it's to your liking.
Cover with cling film, and then place in the fridge to allow the flavour to develop. Ideally leave it overnight, though if you're extremely impatient then you might be able to get away with 4 hours or so, though I cannot guarantee the same results.
After your desired amount of time has elapsed, remove the Lemonade from the fridge and get 1 litre glass bottle which can be tightly sealed. Place a funnel into the top of the bottle, and hold a sieve over the funnel and carefully strain the lemonade through the sieve. You may want to decant the lemonade to a large jug first before you do this to make pouring easier.
Now pour yourself a glass of refreshing Lemonade, or pop it back into the fridge to enjoy another day. It should last around 5 to 7 days in the fridge.
