@Beth Gallagher made homemade lemonade, and it reminded me of a recipe for concentrate I've used from my 1973 Good Housekeeping cookbook. I like the concentrate because it takes up less fridge space, and I can use it to sweeten other things. ************************************************************************** Lemonade Concentrate Makes (16) 1 cup servings 1 1/2 cups sugar 1TB finely grated zest 1 1/2 cups hot water 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (8 to 10 lemons) (To make limeade, use lime zest and the juice of 10-12 limes.) About 2 hours to 1 week ahead… In a 1 quart heat-proof container with a tight-fitting lid, shake together the sugar and lemon zest. Add the hot water, and shake until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon juice and shake. Refrigerate. To reconstitute a single serving, use 1/4 cup of concentrate and 3/4 cup of water, over ice. For an 8 cup pitcher, use half the concentrate and 6 cups of water, over ice. ************************************************************************** pdf attached
I discovered something interesting today. People make lemonade from bottled lemon juice! Who knew??? I never even considered it, but after getting tired of juicing lemons I looked online and found several "recipes." (Various combos of sugar, water, lemon juice... they should all just say "to taste." ) Anyhow, I made a quart of lemonade with a couple of big lemons and a half cup of ReaLemon lemon juice (not concentrate). It tasted great so I'll be using this shortcut from now on... but I need those lemon slices and bit of pulp!!
Interesting. Maybe 50/50 would work, but the stuff does not taste like real juice to me. I keep the bottled stuff around for emergencies and for recipes that specify it. Some recipes require a specif ph level to the juice, and only a factory can guarantee their product to consistently be in that narrow a range...you never know what you're gonna get from a particular piece of fruit.
Well, my taste buds are pretty effed up right now, but I thought it was very good lemonade. I couldn't do without that little bit of pulp and the floating lemon slices, though. My husband said it was good but he always says that; he doesn't want to hurt my feelings so who knows. And my new fridge makes cute little ice cubes that are practically clear. They make a very attractive glass of lemonade. Oh... and if a recipe requires a "certain pH level," I can assure you that won't be an issue since I'll move on to a different recipe.