AuthorBen WatsonCategorySummerYou can either make a big batch, pasteurise it in a water bath and store in a cool cupboard or, as lemons are available all year round, just make it whenever you run out. If you like your lemonade on the tart side, boil the peel for an extra five minutes and cut back on the sugar by 10%. Straining through a sieve will give a fairly cloudy lemonade. If you like your lemonade a little clearer, strain through muslin. Dilute with three parts water - sparkling will raise it to the next level.
Juice the lemons and put the skins in a saucepan. Pour over the water and quickly bring to the boil, stirring/turning over continually. You want as much of the zest flavour and a tiny bit of pithiness.
Strain immediately and gently squeeze the skins when they're cool enough. Return the liquid to the pan and gently heat. Add the sugar, stir until dissolved and add the lemon juice.
Strain again and hot fill into a sterile bottle. Keep the surplus in a jug in the fridge.
The bottle will keep for a month or so in the fridge - if you want to keep it for longer, pasteurise to 80°C in a water bath - although finding a vessel big enough to pasteurise whole bottles is tricky and reheating does result in losing some of the zestiness. You can also strain into plastic bottles and freeze.
You can adjust the method to use other fruit as well - gooseberries for example work well with an equal amount of lemons.
Ingredients
Directions
Juice the lemons and put the skins in a saucepan. Pour over the water and quickly bring to the boil, stirring/turning over continually. You want as much of the zest flavour and a tiny bit of pithiness.
Strain immediately and gently squeeze the skins when they're cool enough. Return the liquid to the pan and gently heat. Add the sugar, stir until dissolved and add the lemon juice.
Strain again and hot fill into a sterile bottle. Keep the surplus in a jug in the fridge.
The bottle will keep for a month or so in the fridge - if you want to keep it for longer, pasteurise to 80°C in a water bath - although finding a vessel big enough to pasteurise whole bottles is tricky and reheating does result in losing some of the zestiness. You can also strain into plastic bottles and freeze.
You can adjust the method to use other fruit as well - gooseberries for example work well with an equal amount of lemons.