Grandma’s Lemonade

I loved Grandma’s Lemonade!

Everybody loves lemonade and almost everybody has a recipe (usually in their heads) on how to make a quick pitcher of lemonade.

It is a simple process…squeeze a few lemons, add a little sugar, water and ice and you are ready for a summertime fun drink, right?

However, do you know how to make lemonade that tastes “just right” time after time after time?

I like to use a pretty soda glass…and I put a few sea shells in this pic….not really caring for that affect….they look like beans! 🙂

A perfect tasting lemonade would be my Grandmother’s recipe…

Grandma’s Lemonade involves making a simple syrup!

Sure, there have been times when we all have thrown all the above ingredients into a pitcher and satisfied our need for this summertime drink… only to find that the sugar has settled in the bottom of  either the pitcher or the glass we are drinking it from.

AND the taste is either too lemony or too sugary….never exactly right.  But we drank the lemonade anyway because it tasted so good! Right?

If that has been the case for you a time or two…let me share with you Grandma’s Lemonade which was always perfect!

Grandma seemed to start with a sauce pan and heat for almost everything (including her home made ice cream recipe) and she did the same for lemonade.

Here is Grandma’s Lemonade recipe and her method for always “just right”  lemonade!

Sometimes I add pieces of fresh mint that I grow in my garden to my lemonade!  Lime and lemon slices are also a good addition.

The proportions:  1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of lemon juice.  This ratio makes a sweet lemonade, just the way I like my lemonade. If you feel it is too sweet for your taste, reduce the amount of sugar.

The secret to perfect lemonade is to start by making sugar syrup, which is known as “simple syrup”.

Grandma always had a jug of simple syrup sitting in her pantry.  I don’t know if that was a health issue (not refrigerated)…. but that is where she kept her simple syrup and none of us ever got sick by drinking her lemonade or eating her cakes and frostings. She used simple syrup for her cinnamon roll frosting and cake frosting, just to name a few foods.

If you prefer to make a large amount of simple syrup, you can place it in the fridge.

Bringing the water and sugar to a boil,  dissolves the sugar into the hot water which assures evenly dispersed sugar making whatever you are making a smoother mixture. Your sugar will never sink to the bottom of the pitcher.

It is worth the extra effort.  I also like to use pretty straws for any drink I make.  

I know I am weird but I like a straw for almost anything cold.  

I pick up pretty straws anytime I see something different.  I think they make drinks look and taste better! 😉

These are a few of my straw collections. 😉  

I will be using the red and blue straws for upcoming Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day Celebrations.  

Below is a printable recipe for Grandma’s Lemonade….Sooooooo good!

Enjoy!

Me

Grandma's Lemonade

2014-05-15 12:15:20

Yields 6

The secret to great tasting lemonade....start with a simple syrup which is simply water and sugar that has been brought to a boil and then cooled. You will never have a glass or pitcher with sugar settling in the bottom.

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Prep Time

10 min

Prep Time

10 min

Ingredients

1. 4-6 large lemons
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
4. 1 cup lemon juice
5. 3 to 4 cups cold water

Instructions

1. Make the simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and let simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Let the simple syrup mixture cool
4. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from the lemons, enough for one cup of juice.
5. Add the juice and 1 cup of the simple syrup, (sugar/water mixture) to a pitcher.
6. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, (you decide the strength)
7. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes, (if you can wait that long for a refreshing glass of heaven).
8. Serve with ice, sliced lemons or lime, add a sprig of fresh mint for an even fresher taste.

Notes

1. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Me and My Captain https://meandmycaptain.com/