Lemonade & Simple Syrup & Pink Lemonade

[charisstoma]

Lemonade
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_lemonade/

Lemonade: If you stir Lemon Juice, sugar, and water together the sugar will sink to the bottom. A better way is to make a simple syrup heating water and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved, and then add the lemon juice.

The sweetness and strength of your lemonade depends on how sour your lemons are. Lemons earlier in the year are more sour than later in the season. Meyer lemons are sweeter than standard lemons.


Ingredients

Simple Syrup
1 cup white, granulated sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 cup water

1 cup lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons = 1 Cup of juice depending on their size)
2 to 3 cups cold water (to dilute)

Method

"Simple syrup"
Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stirring so that the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat. Simple Syrup can be chilled to use later.


1. While the water is heating for the simple syrup, juice your lemons.

2. Combine juice and simple syrup into container.

Add 2 to 3 cups cold water to taste.

Add more water if you like it more diluted (ice will dilute the lemonade as it melts *).

If the lemonade tastes too sweet for you, add a bit more straight lemon juice.

Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve with ice, sliced lemons


Quick Tip –

If you have extra lemons, they can be squeezed and the juice frozen to use later.

*Make ice cubes of some of the lemonade in an ice cube tray to serve with the drink. This prevents the lemonade from getting watered down as the ice melts.

For more intense lemon flavor, grate the zest from one fresh lemon and add to the simple syrup as you are making it. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let the zest seep in the simple syrup for several minutes, strain out the zest when you add the simple syrup to the lemon juice.




Old Fashioned Pink Lemonade
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/old_fashioned_pink_lemonade/

Simple Syrup
1 1/4 C sugar (using unsweetened cranberry juice; 1 cup if using sweetened)
1 C water

3 C water
1 C cranberry juice
1 C lemon juice

Combine the rest of ingredients to the simple syrup.
Chill or serve over ice.

Comments

[frogs_of_war]

We do the simple syrup method. The water needs to be barely heated to dissolve all that sugar, so when I did it last time, rather than dirtying a pan, I just put the water and sugar in a mason jar and nuke it for maybe a minute, then added the lemon juice. Then to drink fill a glass a third to a half then add water (or seltzer water if you prefer bubbles, which I do).

The mason jar takes up a lot less space in the fridge than a pitcher does.

I've never tried cranberry to make it pink. My grandfather swore by grape juice concentrate, but we're more likely to use blackberry syrup (which we make after my blackberry picking trips).

[charisstoma]

You have blackberry bushes. *envy*.. wait, I lived where they were wild. The bushes have sharp teeth and claws.. okay they've got spines that are formidable and when they grow wild they become a thicket that would give Sleeping Beauty's castle a run for its notoriety.
Still ... blackberries.

Will have to try this way of making simple syrup. Easier. Cooler.
May use a microwavable measuring cup and repurpose a previously bought lemonade bottle.

[frogs_of_war]

No one "plants" blackberry bushes here. They are a ever-present weed. People may cut them back, but the blackberries always win in the end.

The sad part is that the berries only seem to appear in second year growth, but I still managed to pick half a gallon of them within fifteen minutes of leaving my house a few weeks ago. The berries are gone or overripe now, except on the bushes that are mostly in the shade (which are much further from my house).