Pucker up - It's National Lemonade Day!!

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

But regardless of what life has given you, get your pitchers ready!  Why? Because today is National Lemonade Day!

And with the lazy days of summer coming fast coming to an end, what better reason to enjoy this sweet/sour drink of sunshine!





But there's really only ONE way to make this ... using FRESH lemons ... I'm sorry, but while the concentrate will do in a pinch, there is nothing to compare to the original fruit ... unless, of course, you use fresh limes instead (see an earlier post of mine on limes!)





Here's my simple "go to" recipe for making this sparling beverage:

Ingredients


1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)

1 cup squozed lemon juice  (squozed is my own personal word for fresh squeezed)

3 to 4 cups cold water

Method

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.  This is definitely the secret to good fresh lemonade - don't just add granulated sugar to water and lemon juice - it'll never dissolve properly!

2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.  I've also added lemon zest from the fruit to add even more pucker!

3 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength.  Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes.

Pour over a glass of ice and ENJOY!!!