It is Lemonade Day ♥♥

With the weather getting warmer and warmer everyday, I think we could all agree that we need something that will cool us off and keep us feeling refresh. Since it is Summer, I am making a seasonal post just for the Summer season. The post will mostly be about Summer drinks and frozen treats to keep us cool and comfy during the Summer season. If it is not Summer where you are right now, do not worry because you can always go back and search for these recipes whenever Summer arrives in your area or if you just want to get chilled. Some of the drinks that I am sharing here can be made any day of the year, I say bring the ice cream out on Winter 🙂

Today I am sharing with you a refreshing, light and budget friendly Homemade Honey Lemonade. It has a tart taste of a real fresh Lemon 🍋, this is definitely 100 times better than anything you can buy in the cafe or grocery.

A lot lemonade and ice tea we buy outside are loaded with processed sugar. We are basically drinking water with a lot of sugar and small amount of fresh citrus flavor. You’ll be lucky if you can actually get something that is fresh squeeze lemon juice, a lot of times artificial flavored syrup is used in most drinks. Because of the tart sour taste of Lemon, it is often the case that we put a lot of sweeter to counter or balance the sour taste. Processed white sugar is the cheapest and easiest way that most people sweeten lemonade. Not surprisingly because it is a cheaper option and it does the job really well in making the Lemonade taste great. If you are serving the Lemonade to a large party, probably it makes more sense to use sugar syrup which is basically a combination or water and sugar. But if you are serving this just for yourself, or few friends and family then it won’t hurt to male it a little bit more better tasting and less sugar overload. This is where this Honey Lemonade comes in.

This recipe is very easy to make. This is why I encourage you to make one at hone instead of buying something outside. You can make a lot for just few bucks. This basic Honey Lemonade takes only minutes to make. The most that you will do is to squeeze the juice of the lemon. Once that is down, all that is left is the mixing of all the ingredients. That’s about it.

The ingredients is as simple as the process itself. This is a 3 ingredients lemonade recipe. You only need fresh Lemon, honey and water. That it!

Refreshing ♥♥♥

The flavor and taste is way beyond comparison to the one you can get from the stores. You can definitely taste the tart fresh taste of the Lemon. The Lemonade is sweet but not woo sweet that you feel like drinking a syrup. I love how the honey added a nice taste to the drink. You can easily adjust the amount or honey depending on how sweet you like it. I left a ratio of the lemon l, water and honey so that you can easily make larger batch and adjust the sweetness to your preference.

Yes, you can make this a day or 2 in advance. Make the Lemonade but do not add any ice. Add the ice only when you are serving it. This way, it doesn’t get diluted with water. What I often do when I make this ahead is to freeze half of the lemonade in ice cube. The day I am serving it, I used the frozen lemonade ice cubes instead of using ice. This way the lemonade retains the flavor. Adding a lot of ice is a must to appreciate the lemonade better, but adding too much can also make it water down. Try it his tip, it’s a great way to retain the taste of the lemonade and at the same time make ice cold.

What sweetener to use when making homemade lemonade?

This Lemonade is sweeten using raw Honey,you can also use granulated with sugar, or sugar syrup which is just a mix of water and dissolved sugar. Honey adds a nice taste to the Lemonade which is why this is my personal favorite, plus it refuses the use of processed sugar in my drinks. Please note that the amount of sweetener depends on the sweetener you are using. If using other sweetener than honey, add the sweetener gradually so you can adjust it as needed.

I used honey to sweeten the drink, you can use other sweeter but you may have to adjust the measurement. 1/3 cup of honey is not the same as 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in terms of sweetness, as honey is sweeter than sugar. Add gradually and play around with it.

Tip in Getting More Juice Out of the Lemon

To get more juice out of the Lemon, use your hand and roll the Lemon back and fort on a flat surface. This will squeeze in the Lemon and will make it easier to release juice. This is even more helpful when you have a quite firm Lemon. A ripe Lemon is slightly soft and will release juice easily even without doing this extra step. I always do this extra step regardless if I have a firm or slightly soft Lemon. You can tell the difference on how much juice comes out from the lemon, a LOT more that’s for sure.

Ingredients for Honey Lemonade

You only need 3 key ingredients to make this Honey Lemonade and from this you can make different variations.

• Lemon 🍋 – Use freshly squeeze lemon juice, not only that it taste fresh but it also have a lot more tea lemon flavor than the one you cannot buy as already squeezed. Choose Lemons that are ripe, slightly soft to the touch so that there’s more juice that you can squeeze out.
• Honey 🍯 – For a less processed sugar overload, used raw honey instead of granulated sugar to sweeten the lemonade. You can add as much or less depending on your sweetness preference. My personal presence is 2-3 teaspoon of honey for every cup of lemonade. I like to still taste the tart sour taste of the lemon and the subtle sweetness from honey.
• Water 💧 – I use plain water to make the Lemonade. You can also use carbonated water or even cold brew tea, the likes of green tea, camomile or early grey tea. But since this is a basic lemonade, I used water. This way, I can use this as base to make other Lemonade variations.

How to Make Honey Lemonade

This is a basic Honey Lemonade that you can use to make different variations. For that reason, we are sticking to the basic 3 ingredients. Start by mixing honey and water. Stir until the honey is fully dissolved. I use warm water for this so that the honey dissolves easily. Set it aside or refrigerate while you squeeze the lemons.

Next, squeeze the lemons and zest the lemons. Using the lemon zest is optional but I will explain to you why I recommend doing it.

Zest the Lemons – The Lemon zest is full of flavor which can add a lot of tart taste to lemonade. I feel that it will be such a waste to not use them. Zest of the lemon is basically just the yellow skin of the Lemon. I used a fine grater sometimes a lemon zester to do this. Set aside all the lemon zest. You have several options on how to use this.

• Make a Lemon Ice Cube – mix the lemon zest in the water and transfer in a ice cube mood. Freeze until solid. You can use this when you serve the lemonade instead of using plain ice.
• Make Lemonade Ice Cube – Mix the lemon zest with the Lemonade. Pour the Lemonade in the ice cube tray. Freeze until solid. Use in making iced cold tea or add in the Lemonade when serving
• Use for Baking – Use the Lemon zest to flavor bake goods
• Use for Salad Dressing – Add in Homemade salad dressing

Now, go on and start squeezing the Lemon. I used my Lemon squeezer which makes the process easier and it also squeeze a lot more juice than me doing this by hands. I like to ue my hands to rll the Lemon on the counter so soften and loosen the Lemon. This helps the juice to release once squeezed. You can use as much or less Lemon as you like depending on how tart you like the Lemonade to be. I used about 2 – 3 Lemon for 4 cups of water, depending on the size of the lemon. Basically, my ratio is 1/2 of Lemon for every cup of water and then about 2 – 3 teaspoon Honey for every 1 cup of water. I like my Lemon tart but still with sweetness from honey.

Once that is done, simply mix the Lemon Juice and the Honey water. That’s it! You have a freshly squeezed Lemonade. Pour in a glass with plenty of ice, enjoy!

Use the Lemon Zest to Make Lemon Ice Cube or Infused Lemon Water

I am always looking for ways to reduce waste. Anything that I can use, I will use it. For this Lemonade, I used the Lemon zest to make Lemon ice cube. This is just basically ice with Lemon zest mix in it. Lemon zest have so much flavor and it will be such a waste to not use them. It is a great way to infuse the water with Lemon flavor. You can make Lemon ice cube or use the infused water for tea. I also use the squeeze Lemon to flavor my water. Simply put all the squeezed Lemon into a cold water, add some fresh mint and you have a lemon and mint infused water. Don’t forget to add plenty of ice 🙂

Basic Lemonade Ingredients:

• 4 – 5 cups Water
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup raw Honey (adjust to sweetness preference)
• Lemon Juice from 2 Large Lemons (More Lemon juice makes a more tart taste. Increase if you prefer a tart lemonade)

Variations

Strawberry Lemonade Ingredients: 

• 1 lb Strawberries (to yield 1/2 cup juice)
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup granulated Honey or granulated Sugar
• 2 cups Homemade Lemonade (see Basic Lemonade ingredients above)

Cherry Mint Lemonade Ingredients:

• 2 cups Cherry (to yield 1/2 cup juice)
• 1/3 cup Honey or 1/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 2 cups Homemade Lemonade Lemonade (see Basic Lemonade ingredients above)

Blueberry Lemonade Ingredients: 

• 2 pints Blueberries (to yield 1/2 cup juice)
• 1/3 cup Honey or 1/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 2 cups Homemade Lemonade Lemonade (see Basic Lemonade ingredients above)

Peach Lemonade Ingredients: 

• 3 cups chopped Peaches (approx. 3 lg. peaches, to yield 1/2 cup juice)
• 1/3 cup Honey or 1/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 2 cups Homemade Lemonade Lemonade (see Basic Lemonade ingredients above)

Raspberry Lemonade Ingredients:

• 1 cup Raspberries (to yield 1/2 cup juice)
• 1/3 cup Honey or 1/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 2 cups Homemade Lemonade Lemonade (see Basic Lemonade ingredients above)

Instructions:

1. In a pan, pour the water and the honey. Simmer just until warm enough to melt the honey. Set aside and cool completely.
2. Zest the Lemons: This step is totally optional but if you are making a lot of Lemonade, it will be a great opportunity to get the zest and use it for other purposes. For this recipe, I used it to make Lemon ice cube. Simply zest the Lemons, mix with water and pour in ice cube tray. Freeze until solid. You can use this Lemon ice cube for any cold ice tea drink or for any flavored Lemonade.
3. Squeeze the Lemons: You can do it manually or you can use a Lemon squeezer to get more out of the juice.
   • Tip: Using your hand, roll the Lemon on the counter to soften it and loosen the inside. This will make the extraction of the juice easier and you will get more.
4. Make the Lemonade: Now that you have all the components needed, mix the honey water and the lemon juice. Transfer in a jar or glass with ice cubes. Use the lemon ice cubes if you made it.
5. Make the Strawberry Sauce/Syrup: In a pan, transfer the chopped Strawberry and sugar or honey. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes in low medium heat until the Strawberry juice comes out. Use a fork to mash the Strawberry. You can use this as is or pass it in a sieve for a clearer lemonade.
6. Serve: Add the Strawberry sauce/syrup in a glass. Add ice cubes and pour the mixed lemonade. Add some fresh Mint or Basil (optional).

Notes for Variations:

To make the suggested variations, cook the fruits + 1/4 cup sugar or honey. Simmer until the fruits are soft and the juices comes out. Run in a strainer to extract the juice. You can skip the straining if you do not mind a chunky bits of fruits in the lemonade.

Enjoy! If you make this, share and tag me in Instagram #SweetNSpicyLiving. I would like to see your creations too.

Makes 5 cups

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