Nothing is as good as a fresh, cold lemonade on a hot summer day. But the art of the good glass of lemonade has seemingly dissolved into the memory banks of older people, only to be replaced by instant versions that come in little packs and are artificially sweetened.
The recipe below is the one my Mom used. Yes, we had Kool-Aid. All kids did! But when it was time for some real lemonade, this was how she made it- a recipe she got from my Dad!
- 6 lemons
- 1 ¼ cup white sugar (you can replace this with something diabetic-friendly-just adjust directions as needed)
- 5 cups of cold water
- Wash the lemons and peel off all the zest using a vegetable peeler.
- Set peeled lemons aside.
- Add the lemon zest to a bowl and cover with sugar.
- Toss to combine.
- Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight
- Bring water to a boil in a pot over high heat; turn off the heat and pour in the lemon-sugar mixture.
- Stir and let sit until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes
- Pour through a mesh strainer back into the same bowl and discard the zest.
- Let cool to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes
- Cut the lemons in half and squeeze them into the bowl.
- Pour lemonade into a serving pitcher.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly for at least 2 hours before serving over ice.