Drinks

Fresh Lemonade

Name: Fresh Lemonade
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: about 1.5L
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 200 g sugar; 240 ml water, for the syrup; 240 ml fresh lemon juice, about 6-8 lemons; 1 l cold water, plus ice to serve; lemon slices and mint, to garnish

Squeezed lemons balanced with sugar syrup and cold water.

Vegetarian Vegan Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Nut-Free

Pitcher of lemonade with lemon slices and ice — A sugar syrup dissolves fully -- stirring sugar into cold water alone often doesn't.

Prep10 min

Cook5 min

Total15 min

Servings 6 servings

DifficultyEasy

Fresh lemon juice mixed with a simple syrup and cold water -- brighter and less cloying than anything from a powdered mix or a bottle.

Ingredients

200 g sugar
240 ml water, for the syrup
240 ml fresh lemon juice, about 6-8 lemons
1 l cold water, plus ice to serve

To finish

lemon slices and mint, to garnish

Instructions

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves completely, then let cool. 3 min
Juice the lemons, straining out the seeds.
Combine the lemon juice, sugar syrup, and cold water in a pitcher.
Making a syrup instead of stirring sugar directly into cold water is what dissolves it fully -- sugar stirred into cold liquid alone often stays grainy.
Taste and adjust the balance of sweet and tart with more syrup or lemon juice.
Serve over ice, garnished with lemon slices and mint.

Notes

Keeps 5 days refrigerated; the flavor is best within the first 2 days.
Adjust sweetness to taste -- lemons vary quite a bit in tartness.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (1 glass) -- estimated, not lab-tested.
Nutrient	Amount
Calories	90 kcal
Total Fat	0 g
Saturated Fat	0 g
Carbohydrates	24 g
Fiber	0 g
Sugar	23 g
Protein	0 g
Sodium	5 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg
Values are estimates based on standard ingredient data, not laboratory analysis.

Photo: Alina Kakshapati, CC0 1.0. Cropped to 3:2 and re-encoded as WebP/JPEG for web delivery.