Lemonade with Honey

Ingredience

¾ cup sugar

13 lemons (2 sliced thin, seeds and ends discarded, 11 juiced to yield 2 cups)

56 ounces cold water

½ cup honey

Pokyny

Using potato masher, mash sugar and half of lemon slices in large bowl until sugar is completely wet, about 1 minute. Add water and lemon juice and whisk until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over serving pitcher, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible; discard solids. Stir in honey and remaining lemon slices and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. Stir to recombine before serving over ice.

Poznámky

Ginger Lemonade

Mash ½ cup peeled, thinly sliced ginger with sugar and half of lemon slices.

Mint Lemonade

Mash 1 cup fresh mint leaves with sugar and half of lemon slices. Add ½ cup fresh mint leaves to strained lemonade.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS This sweet, tart, refreshing lemonade is based on a recipe by Mikaila Ulmer of Austin, Texas, owner of Me & The Bees Lemonade. We muddled lemon slices with granulated sugar to extract the oils in the peels for deep flavor in addition to the bright, freshly squeezed lemon juice. Following Mikaila’s wisdom, we added a little honey for a lightly floral flavor. After combining all the ingredients, we strained the lemonade to catch any stray lemon seeds and chilled it for at least one hour. Served over ice, it’s a lovely twist on a summertime classic.

When purchasing lemons, choose large ones that give to gentle pressure; hard lemons have thicker skin and yield less juice. Lemons are commonly waxed to prevent moisture loss, increase shelf life, and protect from bruising during shipping. Scrub them with a vegetable brush under running water to remove wax, or buy organic lemons. Don’t worry about the seeds in the extracted juice; the entire juice mixture is strained at the end of the recipe.