Old Fashion Lemonade Recipe

The spring showers that fell all day didn’t stop me from biking straight to the grocery store after swapping out my German school books for the empty bottles that needed to be recycled.  In fact, I was absolutely soaked by the time I walked into the grocery store.  There was no turning back.  I’m back to Making This Home to show you why:

Yes – those are lemons that have been scrapped of every possible bit of juice.  We’ve been making a liter of lemonade from scratch about once a week since spring hit.  And oh my gosh – it is amazing stuff.

We definitely seem to be a seasonal beverage family at our house.  In the summer, we make this simple refrigerator iced tea with a regular old jar.  All autumn, we’re simmering our own spiced apple cider on the stovetop.  And now – we’re aching for some good ol’ American lemonade to welcome spring.

Like many Americans, I have fond memories of mixing frozen lemonade concentrate as a kid or eyeing the lemonade stands at the amusement parks.  But Germany doesn’t have lemonade like I remember.  You can buy a drink here called Bitter Lemon.  I’ve never actually seen anyone drinking it or purchasing it, though I did make the mistake of purchasing some once.  Let me just say that the moment the stuff touched my lips, my eyes could have bulged right out of place.  And my lips?  Oh they puckered up so fast.  I know exactly what “bitter” means now.  Yowzers!

Perhaps those of you in Germany can help explain the bitter lemon phenomenon to me.  In the meantime, I’m making more lemonade.

If you’re a lemonade lover or don’t know what lemonade is like, you truly have to try this recipe.  It’s really flexible.  You can add as many lemons, limes, and sugar as you wish.  Just don’t try and cheat with that lemon juice you can buy in a little plastic container or jar – Does Not Work.  Eww.  Yuck.

The sun is peeking through the clouds in Germany right now.  The rain has stopped.  It’s the most beautiful sunset.  Our day is just about over here.  You can guess what we have in hand.

Old Fashion Lemonade

    1 liter water, chilled
    3-4 lemons
    1 lime (optional)
    sugar

Squeeze the juice from the fruit.  You do not need any fancy tools.  A spoon is a really effective tool for scrapping the inside of the lemon… which is just perfect because that’s all I have.  Strain the juice and stir into chilled water.  Add sugar to taste and continue to stir until it dissolves.  Enjoy.

*I think a lot of people prefer equal parts sugar and lemon/lime juice.  We prefer far less sugar (and usually even more water to stretch those lazy lemonade nights), so play around with the combination.