Homemade lemonade
Six lemons, sugar, boiling water, one night of waiting. The result has nothing to do with what's called 'lemonade' in the soda aisle, it's a burst of citrus, clear and precise, that refreshes like a bucket of seawater.
True old-fashioned homemade lemonade is prepared by double extraction: the (fragrant) zest infuses in the sweetened boiling water, and the (acidic) juice is added fresh. The secret is to zest without taking the white pith, which would give an unpleasant bitterness. One night of infusion is enough to obtain a golden, fragrant, naturally lightly sweetened drink, the antithesis of industrial lemonades packed with synthetic flavourings.
Ingredients
- Large, well-yellow lemons6 large
organic is essential (you use the zest), choose lemons untreated after harvest
- Caster sugar150 g
adjustable from 100 to 200 g to taste, you can replace it with 100 g of honey for a less industrial version (to dissolve in warm, not boiling, water)
- Boiling water1.4 L
Equipment
- •1 peeler or a zester
- •1 large glass or ceramic bowl (2 L capacity)
- •1 lemon squeezer
- •1 muslin or fine cheesecloth to filter
- •2 to 3 sterilised glass bottles
Steps
- 1
Zest the lemons (key step)
With a peeler or a zester, take the yellow zest of the 6 lemons, CAREFULLY avoiding the white skin underneath (the pith). The white would make the lemonade bitter. If you take a few thin strips with a little white, it's not serious, but avoid the large pieces.
15 min
- 2
Squeeze the lemons
Cut the zested lemons in half and squeeze them carefully. Quickly filter the juice to remove the pips (the presence of pips in the infusion also gives bitterness).
10 min
- 3
Assemble in the bowl
Pour the lemon juice, the zest, and the sugar into the large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the top. Stir well to dissolve all the sugar. Cover with a clean cloth.
5 min
- 4
Infuse all night
Let it infuse at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours (all night). It's this long time that lets the zest release all its essential oils into the sweetened water.
8 to 12 h
- 5
Filter and bottle
Filter carefully through a muslin, pressing the zest gently to recover as much aroma as possible. Transfer into glass bottles. The lemonade is best fresh, but keeps 10 days in the fridge.
15 min
Storage
10 days in the fridge in closed bottles. Any surplus can be frozen in 1 L plastic bottles (leaving 2 cm of space for expansion), thaw in the fridge 24 h before use.
How to use it
To be drunk well chilled, in a large glass with ice cubes and a slice of lemon. For a sparkling lemonade: dilute 1 part lemonade in 1 part sparkling water when serving. As a cocktail base: with gin or vodka for a long drink. Over ice.
Health properties
- Vitamin C of the lemon (fresh juice added at the end, better retained than in pasteurised industrial lemonades)
- Essential oils of the zest (limonene)
- Flavonoids (hesperidin, naringin)
- Hydrating and thirst-quenching, a homemade alternative to industrial sodas saturated with sugar
- Far less sugar than a commercial lemonade (often 100 g/L or more), you adjust the sugar to taste
These preparations belong to cooking and herbal tradition: they nourish and support, do not “cure” anything and replace no treatment. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before prolonged use, if under treatment, pregnant or breastfeeding, or for a child. Follow the stated storage precautions strictly.
Precautions
High acidity, can trouble gastric reflux and tooth enamel in case of very frequent consumption (rinse the mouth afterwards). Sugar is still present, to dose for diabetics. For babies under 1 year: avoid (acidity + sugar). People treated with anticoagulants: the vitamin K in lemon is low, little interaction expected.
Sources & tradition
- · European tradition (the first lemonades are attested in France in the 17th century, in Paris)
- · Édouard Nignon, *Éloges de la cuisine française* (1933)
- · *L'autosuffisance, c'est possible !* (Cherche-Midi)