Lemonade is Awesome!

Name: Lemonade is Awesome!
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 5 serving(s)
Ingredients: 4 lemons, juiced; 1 quart water; 1/2 cup white sugar

Submitted by CHEF GRPA

"A cool refreshing summer drink that can be made at any time you have lemons... or limes! Beats any store-bought lemonade recipe hands down. This is a good basic recipe to start with, but with everyone's taste preference when it comes to lemonade, (sweet lemonade verses a tart lemonade) I think one should add ingredients that suits their taste buds. I will definitely use this over the summer!!"

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Ready In:: 10mins
Ingredients:: 3
Serves:: 5

ingredients

4 lemons, juiced
1 quart water
¹⁄₂ cup white sugar

directions

1. In a 2 quart pitcher, combine the lemon juice, water and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Chill in refrigerator.
NOTE: For those looking for an easier way to juice lemons, Grandma taught me to roll them on the counter while gently pushing down with the palm of your hand to get the juices flowing.
My Note: I do recomment one thing. To make a sugar syrup, also known as "simple syrup". Dissolving the sugar in hot water effectively disperses the sugar in the lemonade, instead of having the sugar sink to the bottom. To make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely. Use the same amount of water as per sugar. Then in pitcher add your juice and then the sugar water. Then add the rest of the water that is called for.
Sometime I used half lemons, half limes, which was tasted great. Then because my kids were asking for pink lemonade I threw in 4 frozen strawberries and whizzed it all in the blender. And all lemons are different size it would help if I could say the mesurement in cups anyways brown sugar works better than white but you might have to experiment on the mesurements.
We made this at a friend's house, except I substituted the water for Club Soda (a type of sparkling water) and doubled the recipe, so it was /really/ fizzy lemonade! It was cold and the lemon to Club Soda ratio was perfect, and not too sour. However, we did have to get a large spoon and scrape the bottom of the pitcher because the sugar sank to the very bottom in an obnoxious little clump. Due to this issue, I would recommend getting a pot or a small saucepan, and bringing the 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water to a boil to create a simple syrup. Then you can wait for it to cool, pour it in and add the rest of the water (or Club Soda!) and thus avoid the sugar problem. If I didn't have lemons I used lemon juice, which made it quicker.