Ginger Limeade Recipe

Prepare ginger

Peel the ginger root with a spoon or vegetable peeler. Finely grate the peeled ginger until you have roughly 3 to 4 tablespoons of grated ginger (about 4 oz whole root yields this amount).

Make syrup

In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar and 1 cup water. Add the grated ginger and lime zest. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 8 minutes to infuse the ginger and lime zest into the syrup.

Strain and cool

Remove the saucepan from heat. Let the syrup steep for 10 minutes off the heat for stronger ginger flavor if desired. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof container, pressing on the solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Cool the syrup to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold (about 30–45 minutes). The syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Taste the chilled syrup and measure the sweetness concentrated level. For this recipe use 1/2 cup of ginger-lime syrup for each 1 cup of lime juice + 3 cups water (yields a moderately sweet, gingery limeade). In a large pitcher, combine 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice and 1/2 cup chilled ginger-lime syrup.

Add 3 cups cold water to the pitcher and stir thoroughly to combine. Taste and adjust: if you prefer sweeter limeade, add more syrup 1 tablespoon at a time; for stronger lime flavor, add up to 2 tablespoons more lime juice.

Add ice cubes to the pitcher or individual glasses. If making the sparkling version, replace up to half or all of the 3 cups cold water with chilled club soda or sparkling water and add it only just before serving to preserve fizz.

Pour into glasses over ice, garnish each glass with a lime slice and 2 mint leaves if using. Serve immediately.