Lemonade Recipe

Juice the lemons

Roll the lemons on the counter firmly with the palm of your hand to loosen juices. Cut lemons in half and juice until you have 1 cup (about 4–6 lemons depending on size). Strain the juice through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup to remove seeds and excess pulp.

Make the simple hot-sugar mixture

In a heatproof container combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar with 1 cup warm water. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. This warm sugar solution helps the sugar incorporate fully into the cold lemonade. If using honey, stir 2 teaspoons honey into the warm water the same way.

Combine juice and sweetener

Pour the strained lemon juice into a pitcher. Add the dissolved sugar/warm water mixture and stir to combine.

Add cold water and chill

Add 3 cups cold water to the pitcher and stir. Taste and adjust: for a sweeter lemonade add more sugar or simple syrup, for stronger lemon flavor add up to 1/2 cup more lemon juice, or dilute with extra cold water if too tart.

Serve over ice

Fill glasses with ice cubes (about 1/2 cup per glass). Pour lemonade over ice and serve immediately or refrigerate the pitcher for up to 2 days. If refrigerating, stir before serving as components may settle.

Garnish with lemon and mint

Add a lemon slice to each glass and a few fresh mint leaves for aroma. Clap the mint between your hands once before adding to release oils.

Make sparkling lemonade

For a fizzy version, replace up to half of the cold water with chilled sparkling water (about 1–2 cups, added just before serving to retain fizz).

Use simple syrup instead of granulated sugar

If using pre-made simple syrup, skip dissolving granulated sugar in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon simple syrup to the pitcher, taste, and adjust as needed.