There’s something about the first proper sunny weekend of the year that calls for lemonade. Not the fizzy stuff from a bottle, but the real thing, made in the kitchen with sticky fingers and a fair bit of giggling along the way.

This one’s become a bit of a tradition in our house. My daughter does the squeezing (badly, but with great enthusiasm), I keep an eye on the pan, and we both have a good go at the tasting. It takes about ten minutes of actual effort, and the rest is just waiting for it to go cold in the fridge, which is the hardest part when small people are involved.

Leigh and his daughter Izzi making homemade lemonade in the kitchen
Izzi on squeezing and tasting duty.

Get the kids zesting and juicing, let them stir, and let them be the judge of whether it needs a touch more sugar. It’s a lovely little job to do together on a warm afternoon, and you end up with two litres of something that tastes like summer.

What you’ll need (makes 2 litres)

  • 6 to 8 lemons (you want about 250ml of juice)
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 250ml water, for the syrup
  • About 1.4 litres of cold water, to top up
  • Ice, and a few mint leaves if you fancy

How to make it

  1. Make the syrup. Pop the sugar and the 250ml of water into a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar’s all dissolved. Bring it to a brief simmer, then take it off the heat. A good job for an older child under a watchful eye.
  2. Zest and juice. Zest a couple of the lemons into the warm syrup for extra flavour, then juice the lot. Fish out the pips. This is where the little ones earn their keep.
  3. Mix it together. Stir the juice into the syrup, pour it into a big jug, and top up with cold water until you hit 2 litres.
  4. Chill and taste. Into the fridge until it’s properly cold. Have a taste together and tweak it, a splash more water if it’s too sharp, a little more sugar if it’s too tart.
  5. Serve. Over plenty of ice, with a few lemon slices or some mint if you’re feeling fancy. Best enjoyed in the garden with the sun out.

A few tips from our kitchen

Lemons vary a lot, so trust your taste buds over the recipe. Fancy a fizzy version? Top up with chilled soda water instead of still. And it’ll keep happily in the fridge for three or four days, though I’d be surprised if it lasts that long.

Enjoy, and happy summer.
Leigh.