Messy Vegan Cook

Lemonade Three Ways

Kip

Here in the South of England we've had a miraculous April. The past couple of weeks have been glorious, and even on the long bank holiday weekend just passed we only had an hour of rain. With average daytime temperatures in the mid-20s (celcius, kids) the whole weekend and a glut of lemons bought on the cheap, what else is a girl to do but make lemonade drinks?

These homemade lemonade recipes are the non-fizzy type. Lemonade in Britain is a carbonated Sprite-like soda, but I miss the American still variety (which exists here, but it's not the same). These three lemonade recipes are a combination of what I remember the drink to be as a child and the flavours with which I tend to marry lemons in my grown up kitchen.

You can adjust all of these recipes easily. If it's too lemony, try adding a little bit of water. Too sweet? Add some more lemon. Too bland? Add some more lemon and sugar.

Try freezing these juices in popsicle trays for a super easy ice lolly treat!

Pomegranate Lemonade

Pomegranate and lemon go together in Middle Eastern cookery, so I thought why not in lemonade? A little bit of this syrupy pomegranate juice reduction goes a long way, so there are only a couple of tablespoons in the recipe I've included. Feel free to add more to suit your own tastes, but you may want to balance it with an added spoon or two of sugar or agave if you do. Speaking of that, the pomegranate lemonade is definitely the most tart of the three recipes, so taste it for sugar and add more if the drink is too sour for you.
Ingredients
  • 900 ml (approx 3 ¾ cups) water
  • 200 ml (approx ¾ cup) fresh lemon juice
  • 80 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) sugar
  • 30 ml (2 tbsp) pomegranate molasses
Directions/Method
  1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well until sugar dissolves. For an instant preparation, boil some of the water first to dissolve the sugar before adding the remaining ingredients.
  • Makes 1.1-1.2 litres
  • Cuisine: Drink

Ginger Lemonade

Conversely the ginger is probably the sweetest tasting lemonade. It has slightly less lemon juice than the other recipes to allow the ginger to shine through the intensity of the citrus, but a similar amount of sugar to the mint lemonade. Add more lemon juice and/or water to adjust if it's too sweet for you. Personally I like the tiny bit of extra sweetness with the zingy ginger.
Ingredients
  • 800 ml approx 3 ⅓ cups) water
  • 120 g (½ cup) sugar
  • 20 g ginger, peeled and sliced super thin
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 150 ml (⅔ cup) fresh lemon juice
Directions/Method
  1. Combine all ingredients but the lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, allowing the ginger to infuse.
  2. Use a mesh strainer to sieve the ginger and zest from the lemonade. Stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate or serve immediately with ice.
  • Makes: Approximately 1 litre
  • Cuisine: Drink

Mint Lemonade

You can't go wrong with a straightforward mint lemonade. This is easy to make and refreshing.
Ingredients
  • 800 ml (approx 3 ⅓ cups) water
  • 120 g (½ c) sugar
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 30 g fresh mint
  • 200 ml ( approx ¾ cup)  fresh lemon juice
Directions/Method
  1. Combine the water, sugar, mint, and zest in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then set aside to cool, allowing the mint to infuse.
  2. Once cool, strain the mint and zest. Stir in the lemon juice and serve with ice or refrigerate.
  • Makes: Approximately 1 litre
  • Cuisine: Drink
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