This recipe was first published in the City Natural Therapies February 2010 Newsletter. Don’t want to miss out on great recipes, thoughtful articles and health tips? Sign up for the free e-newsletter.

I’m not pretending that sugar in any form is a health food and sweet drinks can be deceptive in the amount of empty kilojoules they deliver. But on a hot day a long, cool natural lemonade, rather than a beer, will refresh without dehydrating and offers a great seasonal alternative.

This recipe is incredibly simple – take a bag of lemons and squeeze the juice. Mix the juice with an equal quantity of sugar syrup and add a dash of the magic ingredient that turns good lemonade into great lemonade. You can adjust the quantities depending on how much lemon juice you have, so the following recipe is just an example of a small batch.

Bonus: Recycle some bottles, clean them well and you have a gorgeous homemade Christmas present. If gifting lemonade remember to add the citric acid as a natural preservative.

Lemonade

1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar syrup (1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water, in a pan over low heat)
1 teaspoon rose water (available from Middle Eastern shops)

Combine all ingredients, then use a funnel to pour into a clean bottle with a screw or swing top. Use a small amount as a cordial, topped up with sparkling mineral water for a refreshing drink.

If you want to make a large batch to keep longer than a week, add 1 tsp of citric acid per litre of lemonade concentrate.

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