How to Make Lemonade

Longing for that old-time taste of fresh lemonade? Not satisfied by powdered drink mixes? This guide to how to make lemonade will have you making homemade lemonade like a pro, so get ready to sit on your front porch and do some sipping.

If you're interested in learning how to make limeade, this page can help with that as well. Just substitute 8 limes for the lemons called for in the recipe.

A perfect glass of lemonade—cool, not too sweet, with the taste of fresh lemons mellowed by sugar—one of life's simple pleasures, and a real treat on a hot day. So, how do you make that perfect glass of lemonade? A few simple ingredients, assembled according to the lemonade recipe outlined in this guide, will have you sipping a refreshing glass in no time at all. If you want to make super fresh lemonade you can either squeeze the lemons by hand or you can use a citrus press or a reamer to extract the juice. And if you're interested in making pink lemonade, you can easily do so by adding just a few simple ingredients. Read on to learn more about how to make lemonade.

• If you have a juicer, it's easy to follow its instructions and juice your lemons. But even if you don't have a juicer, there are several methods you can use to get the juice out of a lemon.
• Before you use any of these methods, there are a couple of steps you can take to make sure you get the most juice from each lemon:

1. Make sure the lemons are at room temperature.
   • If you're in a hurry, you can microwave the lemon for 30 seconds.
2. Roll them on the counter. This breaks the membranes, and gets you more juice.

• Using a citrus press gets a lot of juice from a lemon. It's a simple device, with two handles, designed to squeeze the juice from a lemon half. It's simple to use:

1. Cut the lemon in half.
2. Place the lemon half in the press
3. Holding the lemon over a bowl, close the press and squeeze.
4. Discard the lemon pulp and seeds from the press, and repeat the process.

• Another tool that some use to juice lemons is a reamer.

1. Position a small strainer over the bowl you're using to collect the juice.
2. Cut the lemon in half.
3. Hold the lemon over the bowl in one hand, and the reamer in the other hand.
4. Press the reamer into the lemon, turning it back and forth to mash the pulp, and let the juice flow through the strainer into the bowl.

• If you don't have a press or a reamer, you can use your hands, but you will probably get less juice.

1. Cut the lemon in half.
2. Place the lemon half in your dominant hand.
3. Position the other hand over a bowl
4. Squeeze the lemon over the empty hand, catching the seeds in your fingers
5. The juice will flow into the bowl.

1. Combine the lemon juice and the simple syrup in a pitcher.

2. Add 4 cups of cold water.

3. Refrigerate 30 minutes, until well chilled.

4. Taste, and add lemon juice or sugar if necessary.

5. Fill glasses with ice.

6. Pour lemonade into glasses.

7. Garnish with sliced lemons.

8. Enjoy!

• Substitute 1 cup of fresh lime juice for the lemon juice. It will take approximately 8 limes to produce 1 cup of juice.

• Pink Lemonade can be tinted by using any of the following:

1. Two teaspoons grenadine
2. ¾ cup maraschino cherry juice
3. One cup cranberry juice
4. A few drops of red food coloring

To make mint lemonade, make the lemonade recipe as instructed above, and add 1/2 cup of mint leaves after you're finished. If you roll the mint leaves in your hands first, the essential oils will be released into the lemonade more quickly. Refrigerate the mint lemonade for at least 30 minutes to allow the mint flavor to infuse the lemonade., then strain and remove the minute leaves. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.