Strawberry Lemonade

There is nothing I love more than plump local strawberries, bursting with sweet juices, and ruby red all the way through.

I go a little crazy with them every year.

My favourite thing that emerged from last June’s berry bounty was this Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream. Incredible.

This year I found myself with a bit less time on my hands, so I froze the entire 8-lb stash I bought on a whim. But I’ve still been buying more, a more reasonable pint at a time, each time I visit the farmers market.

Mostly, they’ve just been for snacking. But nothing quite says summer like a glass of ice cold, sweet-tart, irresistibly pink strawberry lemonade.

The typical lemonade proportions vary between equal parts sugar and lemon juice (soda sweet) to 1 part sugar to 1 1/2 parts lemon juice (on the tarter side). My recipe is 1 part sugar to 2 parts lemon juice (ever tarter), but I find the intense sweetness of in-season strawberries takes the edge off.

I made the recipe as a single serving, like a cocktail, because I usually just want one glass – and maybe a second to share with a friend. And who wants to juice a bazillion lemons? But I scaled it up so that you can make a pitcher if you’re so inclined.

I actually drink it with even less sugar, because I really like to pucker. But Adarsh made an I-just-sucked-a-lemon face when he tasted it. So go with the recipe as written, unless you’re like me – in which case you can try it with 1 tbsp per glass.

If you do make a whole pitcher, you can adjust the tartness – if you find it’s not sweet enough for you, you can add sweetness by making a simple syrup: bring a cup of water to a boil with a cup of sugar, stirring until dissolved, then cool and add to your lemonade to taste. Reserve any leftover syrup to sweeten iced tea/coffee/summer cocktails. Too sweet? Juice another lemon.

Too sober? Add vodka.

Ingredients

• 3 medium strawberries, halved
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar (or more, for sweeter lemonade)
• 1 lemon, juiced (yields about 1/4 cup lemon juice)
• 3/4 cup cold water

Preparation

1. Place the strawberries and sugar in the bottom of a serving glass and muddle well, until berries are almost a puree (you need to be able to suck them up a straw!) and sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice and water; stir well. Serve with ice cubes (or frozen whole strawberries) to keep chilled, if desired.

Last Updated on June 25, 2013 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD