Cloudy lemonade with a dried lemon wheel.
This is the lemonade you grew up wanting and never quite got from a bottle. Real lemon juice, just enough sugar, and cold water. It is cloudy because it is real, and it is better for it. No alcohol, no colour, no list of numbers on the side.
The dried wheel does two jobs here. It looks like summer in the glass, and as it sits, it slowly gives back a little more lemon to the water. By the bottom of the jug, the flavour has only deepened.
What you'll need
- 45ml fresh lemon juice
- 30ml sugar syrup (1:1), to taste
- 150ml cold still or sparkling water
- 2 dried lemon wheels
- Plenty of ice
How to make it
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Pour over the lemon juice and sugar syrup.
- Top with cold water, still for soft, sparkling for a lift.
- Stir once to bring it together, then taste. Add a touch more syrup if your lemons are sharp.
- Drop in two dried lemon wheels. Make a jug of it for the table and let the wheels float through.
Why dried beats fresh here
Fresh slices go pale and waterlogged within the hour, and the pith turns a fresh batch bitter by glass two. Dried wheels hold their colour all afternoon and keep handing back lemon rather than taking over. For a jug that sits out in the sun, there is no contest.
Use the Lemon jar, about 25 wheels, enough for a long run of jugs through summer.