Delicious Lemonade Recipes for Your Next Summer Party
With the warmer weather here to stay, many of us are planning our summer barbeques and get-togethers. A summertime drink staple is definitely lemonade and there is nothing better than the homemade variety. Homemade lemonade often needs to be sweetened and a much healthier alternative to adding cups of sugar is adding honey. Here are two great homemade lemonade recipes using Manuka honey that your family will love and that would definitely sell out from a lemonade stand!
Honey-Ginger Lemonade
Ingredients for Honey-Ginger Lemonade:
– 6 cups water
– 1 ½ cups of lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
– 1 cup Manuka honey
– 1/3 cup sliced ginger
– Ice cubes
Directions for Honey-Ginger Lemonade:
1. In a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water, honey and sliced ginger to a boil.
2. Remove sauce pan from heat and allow honey and ginger to steep for 10 minutes.
3. Strain ginger chunks from water and refrigerate water until cold.
4. In a large pitcher, combine 4 cups cold water, honey/ginger mixture and lemon juice until well combined.
5. Place ice cubes into serving glasses. Pour lemonade over ice and enjoy!
Honey-Vanilla Lemonade
Ingredients for Honey-Vanilla Lemonade:
– 2 ½ cups lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
– 2 cups water
– 2 cups sugar
– ½ cup Manuka honey
– One vanilla bean
– Lemon wheels for garnish
Directions for Honey-Vanilla Lemonade:
1. Combine 2 cups water, sugar and honey in a large saucepan and cook over medium-high heat.
2. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using the back side of the knife, scrape the interior vanilla seeds from the outer skin. Add the vanilla seeds and the outer skin to the sauce pan.
3. Bring the honey and vanilla mixture to a boil, cooking for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Add the lemon juice to a large pitcher. Holding a strainer over the top of the pitcher, pour the honey and vanilla mixture into the pitcher, straining out the outer skin of the vanilla bean and other large particles.
5. Add cold water to the pitcher until the amount of liquid equals one gallon. Stir lemonade well.
6. Place ice cubes into serving glasses. Pour lemonade over ice, garnish with a lemon wheel and enjoy!
Don’t these lemonade recipes sound delicious? The ginger and vanilla in these recipes add a little extra to our everyday lemonade and will definitely be a beverage your family and your party guests will love!
