How to make lemonade ... with a twist
It's lemon season and here in San Diego, my lemon tree is heavy with huge, beautiful lemons. Like we do every year, we've been giving away sacks of lemons and making every recipe we can think of that incorporates lemons. My husband started a batch of homemade limoncello last week as well as a batch of Moroccan-style pickled lemons...the first time it's been attempted at our house. I'm impressed!
It's warm enough here that my kids set up a lemonade stand a few weeks ago. Neighbors and passersby said that our lemonade was the best they'd tasted, so I decided I'd share a couple of recipes. The first is the very basic lemonade that we make at home - with an optional splash of rosewater, which my son loves (me too!). If you use rosewater, make sure it's distilled rosewater, not diluted rose oil! Any middle eastern grocery will have good, inexpensive rosewater.
The second recipe is a Honey Cardamom Lemonade, which is my daughter's favorite. Cardamom is a warm, exotic, aromatic spice with citrusy undertones that go so well with lemonade. When you make the lemonade on a very hot day (or after working out), you might want to try adding a pinch of salt. The salt balances the sweet and tart flavors of lemonade and can replace electrolytes lost due to sweating. A refreshing lemonade made with fresh lemons also has the added benefit of vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, and anticancer plant chemicals.
Basic Lemonade (with Rosewater)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I used TJ's Organic Sugar which is evaporated cane juice)
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
5 cups water
2 cups crushed ice
Optional: 2 Tbsp rosewater (please use distilled rosewater, not diluted rose oil)
1.) Combine 1 cup water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
2.) In a pitcher or other container, combine the sugar syrup you just made with the lemon juice, 5 cups water, ice, and rosewater.
3.) Taste and adjust for sweetness, adding more water if desired. I typically serve it over a cup full of ice so I err on the side of having the flavor slightly more concentrated.
Honey Cardamom Lemonade
1 cup water
1 cup honey
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
5 cups water
2 cups crushed ice
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (finely ground)
1.) Combine 1 cup water and the honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until honey dissolves. Remove from heat.
2.) In a pitcher or other container, combine the honey syrup you just made with the lemon juice, 5 cups water, ice, and cardamom.
3.) Taste and adjust for sweetness, adding more water if desired.
You can store the lemonade in a pitcher or recycle a big glass juice bottled that is rinsed out well.
try crushing some basil and letting the leaves steep in your lemonade for about 30 minutes before serving. A very refreshing twist!
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I make watermelon lemonade with basil.....delicious!
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I think it is nature's cruel joke that lemons are at their best in winter! Last summer I wanted so badly to make lemonade from scratch, but the lemons were a fortune and looked terrible at the stores in my area.
These recipes look great though ... I am definitely bookmarking for the honey-sweetened one!
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I'm always so jealous of Deana and her productive citrus trees! These recipes are terrific - both rosewater and cardamom are such wonderful exotic flavors. Heather, I also like your idea of infusing the lemonade with basil. Tips to get every last bit of lemon juice out, if you don't own a lemon squeezer: microwave whole lemons for a few seconds prior to squeezing, or roll them on your counter back and forth while pressing with your hands. Both methods will help release more of the juices so you can use every last drop.
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We live in SoCal also and we can't give away enough lemons and oranges this time of year. I squeeze tons of lemon juice and freeze it so that I have plenty during the summer
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I do the same thing and freeze the juice in an ice cube tray. I pop the frozen cubes out, store them in a freezer bag, and use as needed until lemon season rolls around again.
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Maybe your kids can think about signing up for Sunkist's Take a Stand Campaign. http://www.sunkist.com/takeastand/request.asp
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Looks so refreshing. I'm so jealous of everyone that has lemon trees this time of year! I'll file away these winners for when we thaw out!
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Cardamom is great in drinks like this. There's also cardamom extract that you can use instead of powder but both are good.
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Thanks for sharing your view. I really like it very much.Looks so refreshing)))
mmmmmmmm
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Can't wait to try this at home.
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Love the recipe - the sugar is necessary to neutralise the bitter lemon.
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You have got to have the salt to balances the sweet and tart flavors of lemonade otherwise this will not be that good
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My son said he wants to make lemonade this year and this will be his first time, It has been so long I have forgotten a good recipe for it! But this one is really wonderful, I can’t wait to make it with him, although I’m sure he will be against adding rosewater, even though it will taste great.
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