There’s a local cafe/bistro I go to regularly and although I always order the same meal (portobello mushroom in a bun with blue cheese, wedges and salad), my drink order is always different. Sometimes I fancy a hot chocolate, sometimes I’ll have a glass of wine or a bottle of Peroni and sometimes I have their homemade lemonade. Their homemade lemonade is lovely but because it’s so lovely, it doesn’t last long as you can’t help but drink it quickly. As I was drinking some the other day, I pondered how much it cost them to make (they sell it for £1.95 a glass) and decided it probably didn’t cost much and I’d make some myself. Now, before you get all narky and but-you’re-not-just-paying-for-the-ingredients-you’re-paying-for-someone-to-make-it-and-someone-to- bring-it-to-you-and-then-there’s-rent-and-rates-and-wages-and-stuff-to-pay-for; yes, I agree with you and I don’t begrudge them their £1.95; I just wanted to make some for myself. Which is what I did, and very nice it was too.
And in case you are wondering how much it cost to make over a litre of homemade lemonade – a pack of four unwaxed lemons in Tesco is £1.50 (I used 3 so that’s £1.12 [I think]) and a 500g bag of caster sugar is 99p and the water came out of the tap. I tried to work out how much the sugar cost per gram but my maths is so shit, I couldn’t even work it out on a calculator – so, if you can work out how much 140g cost if 500g is 99p, please let me know.
Although my blender (the Froothie G2.1 Optimum) did its thing and whizzed up the lemons, sugar and water beautifully, there was a bit of pulp leftover, which I threw away, despite a voice in the back of my head telling me I could probably use it in a cake or something. You could also, I suppose, leave it in, if you like your lemonade with ‘bits’ in.
Honestly, this lemonade is so simple – you really should give it a go.
- 3 unwaxed lemons, unpeeled and roughly chopped
- 140g caster sugar
- 1 litre cold water
- Add the lemons, sugar and half of the water into a blender and process thoroughly
- Strain the mixture into a bowl and top up with the rest of the water
9 comments
Wow that’s fantastic Cathy! I’m always looking for nice soft drinks that aren’t too sweet, so will definitely be making this, thanks for the recipe.
Nothing beats home made lemonade, except perhaps home made lemonade on a hot summer’s day when all your deadlines have been met! Gorgeous recipe! Have pinned for later! 🙂
Yeap, homemade lemonade is the bees knees and then some.
Oh wow! Unpeeled lemons?! Pith and all?! Froothies are amazing!
Yep – so easy and convenient for someone impatient like me!
I love that you use the whole lemon in this – so easy and it sounds delicious 🙂
Cannot beat homemade still lemonade. And I love how simple it is! I will definitely be trying this when the weather warms up 🙂
My lot adore homemade lemonade – I’m so impressed that you can use the whole lemon in the Froothie , I’ll definitely be making this later, maybe adding some ice too!
This is such a fab and simple recipe… I love how you just stick whopping great chunks of lemon in and the froothie just blitzes it – i’m definitely going to have to give this a whirl as the kids will love it. I reckon it’d also be nice paired with gin when the sun shines… for the grown ups obvs!