A hot day and a cold lemonade—there’s hardly a better combination. But there’s one downside: Most of the lemonades you can buy, are heavily sweetened, whether with sugar or artificial sweeteners. For those who want to avoid this but don’t want to drink only plain water, fruit teas, or herbal teas, there’s an alternative: making your own lemonade.
Is it hard to make lemonade yourself?
No. You can make your own lemonade with just a few ingredients—it’s relatively quick and easy. This has several advantages: When you make your own lemonade, you can better control the amount of sugar, replace it with honey or agave syrup, or even leave it out entirely. Homemade lemonade also doesn’t contain the various additives found in store-bought lemonades, fruit juices, and similar beverages. Plus, it’s fun to make your own lemonade.
Last but not least, there are no limits to your imagination: Lemonade can be made from a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus fruits, berries, or watermelon. How about, for example, a refreshing herbal lemonade made with lemon balm, thyme, basil, rosemary, or mint—or even wild herbs like ground elder, woodruff, or meadowsweet? Lavender or rose lemonade is also a wonderful refreshment.
6 Recipes for Homemade Lemonade
1. Lemonade
Ingredients
1 lemon
300 ml (mineral) water
Preparation
Squeeze the lemon, pour the juice into a glass, and fill it with water. If the lemonade is too sour, you can add a teaspoon of honey (or a sweetener for diabetics) if necessary.
2. Lemonade with Ginger and Oranges
Ingredients
2 organic oranges
5 g ginger
2 l (mineral) water
Preparation
Wash the oranges, slice them, and place them in a large pitcher. Pour (mineral) water over them. Peel the ginger and press it into the pitcher with a garlic press. Ideally, let it sit for a while so the water can absorb the flavor of the oranges and ginger.
3. Watermelon-Ginger Lemonade
Ingredients
a quarter of a watermelon
5 g ginger
1 organic lime
1 organic lemon
(Alternatively, you can use two limes or lemons.)
optional: 1 tsp honey
Preparation
Peel the watermelon and cut it, along with the ginger, into pieces, then purée them. Squeeze the lime and lemon, then mix the juice with the watermelon-ginger purée. Pour (mineral) water over the mixture in a pitcher. Sweeten with honey if desired and garnish with mint leaves.
4. Herbal Lemonade
Ingredients
1–2 organic lemons or limes
50 to 100 g sugar
500 ml water
500 ml (mineral) water to pour over
1 small bunch of herbs of your choice
Preparation
Briefly bring the sugar and about half a liter of water to a boil, then let the sugar water cool. Squeeze the washed and dried herbs slightly and add them to the sugar water. Let the herbs steep in the liquid at room temperature for at least twelve hours. After the steeping time, remove the bundle of herbs from the pitcher and strain the contents. Then add the lemon or lime juice and top it off with half a liter of (mineral) water.
5. Lavender Lemonade
Ingredients
3 tablespoons lavender flowers (fresh or dried)
about 100–200 g sugar (as needed)
1 organic lemon
1 L water
500 ml (mineral) water to pour over
Preparation
Bring the water, sugar, and lemon juice to a brief boil. Remove the pot from the heat, add the lavender flowers, and let the mixture cool and steep for a few hours. Then strain the lemonade and top it off with (mineral) water.
6. Rose Petal Lemonade
Ingredients
2 to 3 tablespoons of rose petals (untreated)
1 liter of water
100 g sugar or honey
2 lemons
Preparation
Gently wash the rose petals with cold water. Bring water to a boil, add the rose petals, and let them simmer for five minutes. Let it cool and steep for one hour. Then strain the rose water, add sugar and honey, and dissolve them by stirring or gently heating the mixture. Add lemon juice, let the lemonade cool if necessary—and it’s ready!
Making your own lemonade isn’t rocket science. With just a few ingredients and very little time, you can whip up delicious drinks—with (almost) no sugar.
Good to know:
- According to a study by foodwatch, children’s sodas contain an average of 7.8% sugar—which is equivalent to more than six and a half sugar cubes per 250-milliliter glass
- For decoration, place one or more pieces of fruit in the pitcher or glass
- A few mint leaves not only add flavor, but also serve as a garnish
- However, to complement the lemonade, you can also place a few berries, leaves, or flowers in an ice cube tray beforehand, fill it with water, and freeze it.
Related posts:
Homemade Syrup: A Way to Make Summer Last Longer
Sweet Summer Delights – 5 Special Desserts
The 7 most popular summer herbs in the kitchen
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