Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

This fresh squeezed lemonade is sweet, fruity, and delicious! With just three ingredients and my helpful tips, you can easily make your own!

Are you looking for a delicious drink to cool down with this summer? Look no further, because this Fresh Squeezed Lemonade is the perfect drink for you! It’s sweet, fruity, and refreshing – perfect for a hot day.

Plus, it’s really easy to make! All you need are three ingredients and my helpful tips. You can have your own homemade lemonade in just minutes.

Why This Recipe Works

• Simmering lemon zest gives an extra lemon flavor and adds a yellow tint without artificial coloring.
• The addition of lemon slices in the glass instead of the pitcher adds flavor and color without soaking them too long, causing bitterness.
• Serving over ice instead of in the pitcher keeps the lemonade from getting watered down.

How Many Lemons Do You Need to Make a Pitcher of Lemonade?

Six to eight large lemons will produce enough juice to make a 2-quart or 1.9 liter pitcher of lemonade. If you can’t find large lemons, a good rule of thumb is to double the amount when they’re on the small side.

Ingredient Notes

• Lemons – Any lemons will do. Just be sure they are unwaxed as you’ll be using the zest.
• Lemon Juice – I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice lacks the fresh flavor you’d expect in lemonade.
• Zest – Use the zest of the yellow part of the skin. The white underneath is bitter which can be unpleasant.
• Sugar – I use superfine/caster sugar as it dissolves much easier, but granulated sugar works fine if it’s what you have on hand.
• Water – I use filtered water, but tap water is just fine.

Buying Lemons For Lemonade

When purchasing lemons to juice, choose the larger ones as they are juicier than smaller ones. Opt for those with smooth and firm skins that appear heavy for their size (which indicates a juicy lemon). Avoid any that are soft or spongy, with any wrinkles or too many bumps as they won’t be as juicy.

How To Juice A Lemon

• Rinse your lemons well.
• Firmly roll them on a hard, clean surface until they soften. This will make it easier to juice.
• Juice using either a handheld juicer* (over a bowl) or an electric juicer* by pressing the lemon into the juicer cut side down (an electric juicer will save you a ton of time).

* As an Amazon Associate, a small commission is made from qualifying purchases

If your lemons aren’t very ripe, microwave them on high for 20 to 30 seconds to help juice flow more easily.

How To Make Home Lemonade

1. Zest and juice the lemons zesting the lemons before juicing.
2. Simmer the zest with sugar and water to release flavors and dissolve the sugar.
3. Strain the lemon juice and sugar mixture into a large pitcher to remove pulp and seeds and zest.
4. Add cold water and mix well.
5. Chill and serve over ice.

How to Make Home Lemonade Step by Step

Zest the lemons.

Use a Microplane to zest by running the whole lemon in one direction against the blades (turning the lemon as you go removing only the yellow part – the white is bitter).

If you don’t have a Microplane, you can use a pairing knife to remove the peel and use the peel instead of zest.

In a pot over medium heat, add sugar, lemon zest, and two cups of hot water.

Simmer stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

There’s no need to boil the water. You just want to simmer it to release the flavor, dissolve the sugar, and add a yellow color.

Strain the mixture into a large bowl or pitcher to remove the zest.

Juice the lemons and strain the juice to remove the pulp, seeds, and zest.

Add it all to a pitcher (if you haven’t already) with 4 cups of cold water.

Taste to make sure it’s not for sweetness and if it’s too sweet add more water a little at a time until it reaches the desired sweetness.

To keep from watering down the mixture, add ice to the glass instead of the mixture.

Serve your home lemonade over ice in a glass garnished with lemon slices.

Erren’s Top Tips

• Always zest lemons before juicing. Zesting a lemon that is already juiced is much harder to do!
• Roll your lemons under your palm on the cutting board, adding as much pressure as possible to make it easier to juice.
• Don’t Chill Your Lemons – Room temperature lemons yield more juice than cold.
• If your lemons aren’t very ripe, microwave them on high for 20 to 30 seconds to help juice flow more easily.
• Speed up juicing by using an electric juicer.
• To keep from watering down your lemonade, add ice to the glass instead of the mixture or better yet, make extra lemonade and make ice cubes out of it to chill it down without added water.

Storing and Freezing Instructions ❄

Store in a sealed bottle in the fridge for up to seven days.

Lemonade can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, store in airtight freezer-safe container with a ½ inch of headspace at the top to allow room for expansion.

FAQs

No, lemon juice is the juice straight from the fruit while lemonade is lemon juice mixed with water and sugar.

Stored in the fridge, fresh lemonade will last about 7 days.

Lemonade gets most of its nutrients from lemon juice, which is full of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, which helps to strengthen the immune system. The lemon juice also helps digestion and the absorption of minerals.

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Let’s Make Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

Ingredients

• 1½ cups granulated sugar*
• ¼ cup lemon zest about 4 lemons
• 1½ cups fresh lemon juice about 6-12 lemons depending on size (plus more for garnish)
• 2 cups hot water
• 4 cups cold water more as needed

Instructions

• Zest the and juice the lemons.
• In a pot over medium heat, add sugar, lemon zest, and two cups of hot water.
• Simmer stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has a yellow hue. There’s no need to boil the water.
• Strain the lemon juice and sugar mixture into a 2 quart/1.9 liter pitcher to remove the pulp, seeds, and zest.
• Add in 4 cups of cold water.
• Taste for sweetness and if it’s too sweet add more water a little at a time until it reaches the desired sweetness.
• Store in the refrigerator.
• Serve over ice in a glass garnished with lemon slices.
• This recipe makes approximately eight 8oz/236ml glasses of lemonade.

Tips + Notes

• Always zest lemons before juicing. Zesting a lemon that is already juiced is much harder to do!
• Roll your lemons under your palm on the cutting board, adding as much pressure as possible to make it easier to juice.
• Don’t Chill Your Lemons – Room temperature lemons yield more juice than cold.
• If your lemons aren’t very ripe, microwave them on high for 20 to 30 seconds to help juice flow more easily.
• Speed up juicing by using an electric juicer.
• To keep from watering down your lemonade, add ice to the glass instead of the mixture or better yet, make extra lemonade and make ice cubes out of it to chill it down without added water.

Nutrition Information:

Erren’s Kitchen is written and produced for informational intentions only. We are not certified nutritionists, and the nutritional information found on this site has not been assessed or authorized by a nutritionist or the FDA. The nutritional information found in our recipes is offered as an estimate and should not be considered a guarantee or fact. The estimated data is provided as a courtesy and calculated through a third-party online nutritional calculator, spoonacular API. Although we do our best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered rough estimates. Many factors, such as brands or products purchased and the nutritional fluctuations that naturally occur in fresh produce, can alter the effectiveness of the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, various online calculators provide different results depending on their particular algorithms and nutrition fact sources. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.