What separates homemade lemonade from the bought kind is the peel. The essential oils in lemon zest give the scent, but the white pith underneath is bitter. Take only the yellow part when you grate. The second thing is the rest: lemonade is not drunk straight after mixing, and four hours in the fridge settles the taste and takes the sharpness off.
Ingredients
For the lemonade
To serve
Method
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Wash the lemons
Scrub the lemons and the orange in hot water, since the peel will be used.
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Grate the zest
Grate only the YELLOW part of two lemons and the orange. Do not go down into the white, which turns it bitter.
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Juice them
Squeeze and strain the juice of all the lemons and the orange.
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Rub with sugar
Rub the grated zest with the sugar by hand for 2 minutes, so the oil in the peel passes into the sugar.
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Combine
Mix the sugared zest, the juices, the salt and the cold water in a jug.
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Dissolve the sugar
Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
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Rest it
Leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The taste settles in that time.
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Strain
Pour through a sieve before serving to take out the pieces of zest.
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Serve
Pour into iced glasses and add a sprig of mint.
Tips
- Do not grate the white part of the peel; the bitterness in lemonade comes from there.
- Rub the zest with the sugar, as the essential oils pass into the sugar and the scent comes through.
- Do not skip the four hours; freshly mixed lemonade tastes sharp and unsettled.
- The orange is not essential but it rounds off the sharpness of the lemon, and one is enough.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.