Simple Homemade Lemonade Recipe

There is nothing like a cold glass of homemade lemonade on a hot summer day. Earlier this week I learned that my husband had never had homemade lemonade! So of course I couldn’t let this misfortune continue!

Ingredients

3/4 cup to 1 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
1 cup of white sugar
4 cups of water
a tiny pinch of salt

Directions

Heat sugar and 1 cup of water in a small pan to create a simple syrup. Set aside to cool.
Squeeze lemons to make juice.
Once simple syrup is cooled mix with lemon juice in chosen pitcher (or large mason jar!)
Add 3 cups of water to pitcher.
Add a pinch of salt.
Mix and refrigerate.

Notes

I found this large mason jar which I LOVE. Pitchers are great, but I like having a top to any drink I put into the refrigerate, so the mason jar was a great option for me. Check out the link!
You don’t have to make a simple syrup. You could just pour in 1 cup of sugar and mix. However, what I find is that a lot of times the sugar sinks to the bottom of the container. Using a simple syrup helps eliminate this problem and increases the incorporation of the sugar.
Taste your lemon juice! My lemons were pretty strong so I felt that 3/4 cup of lemon juice would be sufficient.
Salt? Yes! The salt helps cut the acidity from the lemons and brings out the sweetness.
I was tempted to cut lemon slices and place them into my oversize mason jar. It adds a nice aesthetic. This is great if your are making your lemonade for a party and it will be gone within a couple of hours. However, if your are making it to stay in the refrigerator for a couple of days I advise against this. It makes a pretty photo op, but not worth the taste of the rind.
I use a strainer when squeezing my lemons. It helps to catch the seeds!