Old Fashioned Lemonade is so simple to make & utterly refreshing! Pared lemon slices, lemon juice, sugar and water are all you need to make this traditional thirst quenching drink!.
Well it was the hottest day of the year yesterday and so I thought it was high time that I made this Old Fashioned Lemonade that I first made at school. The recipe has been in my Home Economics index box along with all my other school recipes for decades and I had never revisited it!
Having had some supermarket premium old fashioned lemonade at the weekend I knew that I didn’t want mine to be as sickly sweet but more light and refreshing. Hence I cut down the amount of sugar in my old school recipe and gave the method a bit of an overhaul.
I kept to the main principal of steeping the sugar and parred lemon strips in boiling water for a really good depth of flavour. Pith does not give a good flavour so I wanted to avoid it and concentrate on the lemon juice and zestiness of the peel.
So amid the sweltering heat yesterday my family were literally champing at the bit to have a glass of my Old Fashioned Lemonade.
“Delicious” and “really refreshing” were the a couple of their comments although my daughter said it was “a bit too lemony”! I asked here if it wasn’t sweet enough, to which she replied “no” but within moments here glass was empty and she was onto the next one. I think she just wasn’t used to the zesty taste!
I do hope you try my Old Fashioned Lemonade. I’m sure it has less sugar in it than most if not all of the premium chilled ones on the market and is far cheaper to make. Plus to save pennies wash your own lemons rather than buying unwaxed ones
More refreshing summer drinks:
- Non Alcoholic Mojito – Fab Food 4 All
- Apple, Grape & Kiwi Quencher (Juicer recipe) – Fab Food 4 All
- 5-a-Day Fruit Smoothie – Fab Food 4 All
- Peach & Rhubarb Iced Tea – Tin & Thyme
- Raspberry Lemonade – Recipes from a Pantry
- Homemade Strawberry & Mint Lemonade – Coffee & Vanilla
I am entering my Old Fashioned Lemonade into:
Credit Crunch Munch – run by myself and Fuss Free Flavours and this month hosted by Lancashire Food.
Simple & in Season – run by Feeding Boys.
Eating Al Fresco – Munchies & Munchkins
As usual, do share your creations with me tagging @FabFood4All on social media! I love to see my recipes come to life! You could also leave a comment below, don’t be a stranger!
Pin for later!
Old Fashioned Lemonade
Ingredients
- 3 large unwaxed or washed lemons
- 130 g granulated sugar
- 750 ml boiling water + 500 ml cold water
- Garnish
- 1 lemon sliced
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Start by placing 500 ml cold water in the fridge to cool.
- Thinly par (slice or peel) the rind off the lemons in strips (trying to avoid as much pith as possible).
- Place the pared lemon strips with the sugar in a heat proof jug and pour on the boiling water.
- Agitate with a wooden spoon to help dissolve the sugar and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile cut the 3 lemons in half and juice then place in fridge.
- Once the 20 minutes is up remove the parred lemon strips with a slotted spoon (or strain). Add the chilled water and juice.
- Place back in fridge and when ready to serve add the lemon slices and plenty of ice.
- Enjoy!
Anji Lomas
I’m confuse. Surely you mean the lemons are pared, and not parred? I have a couple of paring knives (short blade, angled tip) which I use to pare fruit and vegetables – is this what you mean? To pare something is to remove the outer skin. If this isn’t what you mean, can you give a detailed explanation please?
Cheers,
Anji L.
Camilla
Thank you for spotting this typo, off to fix it now:-)
Norah Herbert
I knew that when we made real lemonade at school, we boiled the carefully parred strips of lemon peel. I remember it tasted lovely and there is no sugar syrup in this recipe, as back in 1964 no one had ever heard of sugar syrup here in England.
Thank you so much for putting this recipe online.
Camilla
So glad you like the recipe Norah, hope you can enjoy a glass soon:-)
Mette
This is so good in the heat! – next time I will use a less sugar though. Greetings from Denmark
Camilla
Thank Mette, yes make it to your own taste:-)
Janice
I love the sharpness of homemade lemonade, it’s so refreshing too.
Camilla
Yes, I must make some more:-)
Amy Fidler
Think i’ll attempt this,for my next BBQ x
Camilla
Great Amy:-)
Amy Fidler
Love old fashioned lemonade and love this recipe x
Camilla
Thank you Amy, it is lush:-)
Richard Eldred Hawes
I often think that you cannot beat some of the old recipes
Camilla
I agree:-)
A S,Edinburgh
This looks gorgeous. I love the idea of a lemonade recipe featuring less sugar; I think I bought a low-sugar natural lemonade once and it tasted much nicer than the standard varieties anyway, so I’d love to be able to make some at home!
Camilla
Thanks, it is lush:-)
glenn hutton
This is at my level of difficulty and sounds delicious 🙂 will try this recipe out!
Richard Eldred Hawes
So easy to make and so much better than what you buy in the shops
Camilla
Thanks Richard:-)
Lindsey Stuart
I love lemonade, I used to make some with my mum when I was younger! I will be trying this with my little girl, thankyou for sharing with us.
Camilla
Thank you Lindsey, enjoy:-)
William Gould
I do love proper lemonade, something that has a real smack to it!
Katie Bryson
Such a refreshing drink on a muggy summer’s day… I’ve never actually made this myself and am bookmarking for future reference!!! Lush pictures Camilla – very very summery! Thanks again for hooking up with this month’s Simple and in Season 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Katie, always a pleasure to take part in Simple & in Season:-)
Pauline Burroughs
This sounds delicious and refreshing. I’m really going to have to give this a try x
Camilla
Thanks Pauline:-)
emdarlington
This looks so refreshing . Going to give it a go over the weekend.. x
Camilla
Fabulous, do let me know what you think:-)
Ickle Pickle
Oh this looks so delicious – I bet it is super refreshing too! I will definitely try and make some. Kaz x
Camilla
Great Kaz, enjoy:-)
kate @veggie desserts
OOoooh lemonade is perfect for this weather! Looks so refreshing.
Camilla
Thanks Kate, just what we needed in the heatwave!
All That I'm Eating
You’re so right about this Camilla, sometimes simple is just the best and this is perfect for summer.
Camilla
Thank you, simple is how we like it here:-)
Kavey
I do love homemade lemonade. When I was a kid, my mum made nimbu pani (lemon water), and so did family in India, similarly simple and refreshing!
Camilla
Fab Kavey, I bet it was lovely:-)
Helen @ family-friends-food.com
That sounds SO refreshing! Definitely needed some this week – phew! Scorchio!
Camilla
Thanks Helen, yes total refreshment and much needed this week-)
Lucy
Well my girls will certainly love this and I like the fact you reduced the sugar so we will be trying to make our own lemonade over summer.
Camilla
Thanks Lucy, hope your girls enjoy it:-)
Cathy @ Planet Veggie
I made lemonade a few months ago for the first time. This has reminded me to make some more, especially as the weather’s perfect for it now!
Camilla
Glad to have reminded you:-)
Jacqueline Meldrum
I’ve not made homemade lemonade in such a long time, but wee Cooper has been asking if we can make some so I better try this recipe soon. Stumbled, yummed, pinned and tweeted 🙂
Camilla
Aah, Cooper has good taste, many thanks Jacs:-)
Helen Clark
This sounds so nice, especially for the warm weather we’ve been having! I’ll definitely have a go at making it myself soon.
Camilla
Thank you Helen:-)
Erin Ek Rush
ohhh.. that sounds perfect for this weather and I love things really lemony!
Camilla
It is super tasty, thanks Erin:-)
Rhian Westbury
I love traditional lemonade but never realised how simple it was to make yourself. I’d definitely have to make mine extra lemony x
Camilla
Me too, don’t know why I’d left it this long to make:-)
Jo Wiggins
Sounds very refreshing – I’ll be giving this a try x
Camilla
Thanks Jo, excellent:-)
Paighton Millington - The Lazy Baker
Yum! I’ve always wanted to make homemade lemonade. This recipe is definitely going on my to do list
Camilla
Fabulous Paighton:-)
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
Ooh I could just do with a nice jug of that in the fridge today Camilla, it looks so refreshing & I imagine it’s far far far nicer than shop bought stuff. I’m glad it’s not just me that has clung onto her recipe note book from school – I often find myself flicking through it even now. 🙂
Angela x
Camilla
I was mad about Home Economics so even have books from when I was 11 LOL:-)
Maya Russell
I have never made homemade lemonade but having tasted other’s I know that you can’t beat it. Perfect for a hot day.
Camilla
You need to make some then Maya:-)
Heather Haigh
Haven’t made this for years, used to love it, you’ve inspired me to start making it again. The colour of yours is fab.
Camilla
Fabulous Heather:-)
Nicola
You have great timing on this – literally the other day I was at a fair and they had delicious fresh lemonade but it was SO expensive, and I thought I should just make my own!
Nicola
Camilla
Excellent, much better to make your own:-)
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Love, love, love, homemade lemonade. Recently touring Spain one hotel we stayed in had flasks of ice cold lemonade to help yourself to. It was so refreshing when the mercury reaches 30C plus. This method is just like I made it at school (or college cant remember which) its a classic and it works.
Camilla
Thanks Jacqueline, yay to the old fashioned way of making Old Fashioned Lemonade:-) How lovely that it was in your hotel!
Linzi - Lancashire Food
I love real lemonade, perfect post for the hot weather we are currently experiencing. Thanks for linking up with credit crunch munch
Camilla
Thanks Linzi, yes I need this on tap at the moment!