Summer’s here! I can tell by the three sprawled out cats around the house, the number of cold showers I keep taking, the glorious month-long vacation I have now started, and perhaps the most telltale sign of all, my constant craving for cold, tart lemonade.

Having recently come into an abundance of lemons, I decided to satiate my lemonade urge by making my own, instead of buying the oversweetened, chemical-ridden yellow stuff. I don’t think I’ll ever want to go back. I really appreciate being able to control the amount of sweetness and tartness that goes into it – being able to make the perfect lemonade for me. And it’s so easy to make! The trick is making a simple syrup, and not just mixing sugar with the cold water and lemon juice; it’ll never dissolve that way. Heat some sugar and water, squeeze some lemons, add more water and ice, and you’re done. I appreciate how versatile it can be as well – if I had other fruits on hand, I would’ve added some raspberries or strawberries. Oh well, next time…summer is here for a few more months, after all.

Play with the amounts to get the taste you like. Start with the simple rule of 1 cup (well, actually, i used 3/4 cup) sugar dissolved in 1 cup water, and then add as much lemon juice and water as you like after, until it becomes the perfect lemonade.

Perfect Lemonade
adapted from Simply Recipes
Printable Recipe

3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 – 1 1/2 cups lemon juice
3 to 5 cups cold water (to dilute)
Ice and lemon slices

1. Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

2. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 8 lemons, enough for one cup (or more) of juice.

3. Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

4. Serve with ice, sliced lemons.