Homemade Lemonade With Meyer Lemons
Meyer Lemonade
Lemonade made with Meyer lemons is a mild yet memorable drink. Squeeze the juice out these lemons, and you'll discover an atypical flavor. Meyer lemonade is much less bitingly sour and acidic than conventional lemonade.
It's a mild lemonade that some people love, and it's the flavor of the homemade lemonade that I grew up with. Be sure to try Meyer lemonade at least once.
Beyond the flavor, the best thing about making lemonade with Meyers is that the lemons are so easy to squeeze.
Meyer lemons have a thin, flexible skin, and just a little pressure with your bare hands will release the juice. Keep squeezing and massaging the lemon rind in the palm of your hand, and the lemon juice will keep trickling out, down to the last drop. There's no real need for a lemon squeezer.
Here's how to turn that juice into a refreshing, homemade summer drink.
Making Meyer Lemonade
About Meyer Lemons
- The Meyer Lemon
Comparing a Meyer lemon to the lemons typically sold in supermarkets is a bit like comparing an apple to a bunch of oranges. Everything is different: the taste, the color, the shape even the thickness of the skin.
Ingredients
- 8 Meyer lemons (7 lemons for the lemonade and 1 lemon for decorative slices)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 gallon of water (16 cups)
- Ice
Kitchen Supplies
- Measuring cups
- Large lemonade pitcher
- Strainer
- Knife and cutting surface
- Lemon squeezer (optional)
What To Do
- Slice 7 of the lemons in half and squeeze out the juice.
- Strain the juice and discard the seeds. (Meyer lemons can have many, many seeds.)
- Pour the juice into the pitcher and add the water and sugar.
- Stir the lemonade until the sugar dissolves.
- Slice the remaining lemon into thin rounds. Add some to the lemonade. Use the rest to decorate the lips of lemonade glasses.
- Chill the lemonade and serve it over ice.
Variations
- Pink Lemonade With Meyer Lemons and Raspberries: Thoroughly mash 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries in 1/4 cup of water. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to catch the raspberry seeds, then add the raspberry water to a pitcher of fresh Meyer lemonade.
- Meyer Lemon Slush: Make Meyer lemonade using
only 3/4 gallon of water. Pour the lemonade into a blender and fill the
blender with ice. Crush the ice with the lemonade and serve the slush at
once.
Three More Cool, Summer Drink Recipes
- Watermelon Water
Biting into a slice of chilled watermelon is one of the most refreshing pleasures possible on a searingly hot summer day. But you can top that sensation with this easy, icy, blended drink. It's called watermelon water. - Strawberry Loquat Nectar
Loquats are a juicy, bright yellow kind of fruit with a sweet, mild taste. They can be eaten fresh off the tree, but they also shine when paired with strawberries in a homemade fruit nectar. - Homemade Iced Minty Limeade
One way to survive searingly hot summer days: copious quantities of iced minty limeade. The slushy bits of ice cool. The fresh mint numbs. - Watermelon Water
Biting into a slice of chilled watermelon is one of the most refreshing pleasures possible on a searingly hot summer day. But you can top that sensation with this easy, icy, blended drink. It's called watermelon water.