INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound fresh strawberries , stems removed
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar or honey
- 4 1/2-5 cups water, divided
- 1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice (approximately 7 to 8 lemons)
DIRECTIONS
- Use a blender or food processor to puree the strawberries. Strain them through a fine mesh sieve, if desired, to remove seeds.
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, stir together sugar and 2 cups water.
- Bring to a boil, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Strain the lemon juice through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart pitcher. Add simple syrup and pureed strawberries and stir to combine. Refrigerate until cold.
- When ready to serve strawberry lemonade, add 2 1/2 cups of cold water and stir. Taste, and add more water if it's too sweet.
- Serve with ice.
NOTES
- If you don't want to stand around the stove to make the simple syrup you could always just heat up the water using a teapot. Once it is hot enough and "whistling"; take it off the stove and combine the hot water with the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool off completely.
- If you use honey instead of sugar it will give it a slightly different taste. It is honey after all.