If you have lemons, you make lemonade and the best homemade lemonade recipe starts with our concentrated lemon cordial syrup.
This is recipe is a staple in our refrigerator and the start of many delicious and soothing drinks. It can make a hot lemon and ginger drink to ease a heavy head cold or add a splash of soda water and ice for a long refreshing summer drink. We also use it to flavour water kefir and kombucha.
- 6 large lemons
- Root ginger (optional)
- 50 g citric acid
- 1 kg of sugar (it is a concentrate)
- Water to 3 litres (3 quarts)
- Wash your lemons and take the zest off at least 3 of them, all of them for a stronger flavour.
- Whizz the zest with 2 cups of the sugar in a food processor until the oil comes out of the skin and makes the sugar yellow
- Juice the lemons and put the juice in a large pan with the zest, all the sugar, and the citric acid and grated ginger if you're using it.
- Top it up to 3 litres with warm water - simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Strain it off into clean bottles and store it in the fridge
- Water it down to taste.
The citric acid gives it sharpness and is a natural preservative. You can use this recipe with plums and lemons or even peaches and cold tea for an iced tea.