The orange trees on the Costa Blanca are mostly bare now, but there are still lots of lemons around. As with oranges, there’s been a real glut this year, so the shops and markets are practically giving them away.
Now that the weather is warming up nicely, why not make some refreshing lemonade as a healthy, alcohol free alternative to beer and wine? Home-made lemonade has none of the chemical taste of some manufactured lemonades, and it really quenches your thirst on a hot day.
If you prefer fizzy lemonade, add sparkling water to dilute the lemon juice. For a slightly alcoholic version for a party, use semi seco cava.
Store your lemons at room temperature, to make sure they yield as much juice as possible. Chill the serving jug before use and have extra lemon slices, mint leaves and ice ready to garnish before serving.
If you prefer, make a larger quantity of lemon juice and store for up to 3 days in the fridge, diluting as required. A word of warning, though - once you’ve tried home-made lemonade, the stuff in the plastic bottles in the supermarkets will never taste the same again
Ingredients for 1 litre: (enough for 5 - 6 glasses)
• 4 – 6 lemons, depending on size
• 100g sugar – I prefer the flavour of demerera or unrefined granulated.
• 600ml boiling water
• 400ml chilled water or sparkling water to dilute the lemon juice.
Wash the lemons and thinly peel the zest from them with a vegetable peeler, leaving as much white pith behind as possible. Don’t use a zester, as you need to strain the pieces of zest before serving and it’s easier if the pieces are bigger. Also, larger pieces of zest means more oil will leach out from the skin, giving your lemonade more flavour.
Squeeze the juice from the lemons. If you have an electric juicer, this will extract the maximum amount of juice. Place the zest, lemon juice and sugar in a large heatproof jug.
Pour in the boiling water and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cover, and allow to cool. I usually leave the zest to stand in the water overnight. It’s best not to refrigerate the cooling mixture, as it will prevent impair the flavour.
When the lemon mixture is cool strain into a serving jug, and discard the zest. Dilute with water, sparkling water or cava and sweeten with extra sugar if needed. Add lots of ice to the glasses and pour in the lemonade. Serve decorated with lemon slices and mint leaves.
