Fresh squeezed homemade lemonade sounds wonderful, but I had never successfully made it before. I went a little crazy buying Meyer lemons about a month ago so I had a bunch in the fridge needing a purpose. The warm spring weather calls for refreshing summery beverages. Meyer lemons give a floral aroma to the lemonade and the mint compliments it. This is the lemoniest lemonade without being too tart.
Before you get started making lemonade you need a simple syrup to sweeten it. This is just sugar and water in equal parts heated long enough to dissolve. You can infuse your simple syrup with any flavor you like such as ginger or mint or lemon zest. I added some zest as an afterthought as the syrup was cooling, so it didn't add tons of flavor but it looks pretty.
I zested the lemons before I squeezed them because I didn't want to waste any of that fragrant golden peel. Let your fruit come to room temperature and roll it firmly on the counter before you squeeze it to get the most juice out.
I used 4 lemons to get 1/2 cup of juice. Then I soaked the squeezed lemon halves in water until I was ready to mix it up in order to get all their flavor and essence out.
You can find the complete recipe at the White on Rice Couple blog. Just click through to see their step by step instructions for both simple syrup and lemonade. The only change I made was to use mint instead of rosemary for the green herbal garnish. Fizzy club soda is also a refreshing addition. It is every bit as wonderful as is sounds and looks in their gorgeous photographs.
Believe it or not, I STILL have a few of these beauties left. Should I make more lemonade, or try a quick microwave marmalade recipe?
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