Cool off with a refreshing glass of homemade cane sugar lemonade! Made with freshly squeezed lemons and natural cane sugar, this classic drink is perfectly sweet, tangy, and easy to make. There are no preservatives, just pure citrus flavor in every sip.
In a small saucepan, combine cane sugar and water. Zest a lemon or peel a lemon, avoiding the white pith, and juice it.
1 cup water, 2 cups cane sugar, juice of 1 lemon, peel of 1 lemon
Add both zest and juice to the saucepan. Heat on medium heat until it reaches a low boil.
Remove from heat; let the zest steep for a few minutes to intensify the flavor. Strain out the zest and discard. Pour lemon simple syrup into a glass jar and let it come to room temperature before using.
Homemade Lemonade
Juice additional lemons and pour the juice into a large pitcher.
1½ cups lemon juice
Add the cooled lemon simple syrup and 1-2 cups of ice to the pitcher. Fill with cold water and stir well.
1 cup lemon simple syrup, 1-2 cups ice cubes, 6 cups cold water
Add more lemon juice if you want it stronger or more simple syrup to make it sweeter.
Garnish with lemon wedges or fresh mint and serve. Enjoy!
lemon wheel or lemon wedges for garnish, mint leaves for garnish
Notes
Store lemon simple syrup in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Store homemade lemonade in the fridge in an airtight pitcher for up to 1 week. Stir well before using.
After you mix up the lemonade, fill an ice cube tray with lemonade and freeze. When you serve the lemonade, use the lemonade ice cubes instead of regular ice cubes. That way, when your ice melts, it won't water down your lemonade. :)
This lemonade will have the best flavor if it sits in the fridge for several hours before serving. This will give time for the flavors to meld together.