Real lemonade from a quick syrup and a pile of lemons — bracing, not cloying, with the ratio written down so you never guess again.
6
🍋 Lemon ›
juiced (about 250 ml)
1 l
💧 Sparkling Water ›
or still, cold
Mise en place
Before you start
Prep checklist
Lemon — juiced (about 250 ml)
Sparkling Water — or still, cold
Dissolve the sugar in 150 ml of water over low heat, 3 minutes — a simple syrup mixes into cold liquid; granular sugar never will.
Stir syrup and lemon juice together, then dilute with the cold water. Taste and adjust — it should make you blink, pleasantly.
💡
The keeper ratio: 1 part lemon, ¾ part syrup, 4 parts water. Tarter? Cut the syrup, never the lemon.
Pour over ice with a mint leaf and a wheel of lemon.
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Best the day it's made; syrups and bases keep a week refrigerated.
Freezing
Freeze bases into cubes for instant future drinks.
Reheating
Serve as intended — hot drinks fresh, cold drinks over plenty of ice.
Make ahead
Syrups and bases keep a week refrigerated; freeze fruit for instant thick blends.
Wine pairing
This is the drink.
Beer pairing
This is the drink.
On the plate
Serve it with
Garnish
A cinnamon stick for warm drinks
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