Yum! I love homemade beverages, though I have to wonder if, in the interest of extracting as much of the fruit essence and wasting as little as possible, they might’ve made it more like the Amish make their crock lemonade — by first macerating the fruits in sugar to get an intensely flavored syrup. I have a similar recipe for limeade on my homesteading blog: http://dianesdynamics.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html Love your website!

I made a double batch and the proportions were just right. I used two big oranges and eight big lemons and they yielded a lot of very tart juice and zest so the four cups of powdered sugar, two quarts of water and two pints of strawberries were all just enough to dilute and sweeten the citrus flavors.

This Reach based recipe is perfect for May in the rural parts of Southern California, I was able to pick the citrus fruits myself and I bought the strawberries from a nearby farm.

Thank you so much for this recipe. As you can see from my other comment above, I made this recipe in May and I loved it. I have been making a double batch at least twice per week since late May.

I especially love this recipe because it pleases every one who has tried it. Every guest in my house adores this recipe. Other Westerosi dishes can scare people. Old people, whose palates are not very adventurous and kids are not receptive to venison or fish tarts or leeks or jugged hare (do not even attempt to say “Medieval Food,” the old folks think it consists of nothing but “Turkey Legs” that are rotten and have to be spiced heavily to cover up the flavor of bad meat. Fellow foodie-historians, proceed to bang head on keyboard).

No one, however is feels threatened by lemonade, let alone the best lemonade they have all had in their lives (or at least that is what the majority of the people who drink this lemon sweet proclaim, without being asked or otherwise prompted). This is a real “gateway,” recipe, to ease the old folks into trying the more non-threatening recipes and it may help us to create a generation of kids who find fruit and pork pies and venison stews perfectly normal.

Because I have made so many batches throughout the summer, I have a few observations about how to best interpret the recipe:

– Use one huge orange and four huge lemons. If the oranges and lemons are not gigantic and very juicy, get more citrus fruits. The same species of a citrus fruit can vary in size and the amount of juice it will yield. If my lemons are small and dry, I might use as many as 12 lemons in place of the 4 lemons per quart.

– Consider allowing the strawberries to macerate like Diane suggested. Sprinkling a three or four table spoons of sugar on the washed and chopped berries, tossing to coat well and waiting for an hour or so, draws juice and allows the strawberry to really blend with the rest of the drink.

– Do not skimp on the sugar. The Ladies of this website are the Maid, Mother and Crone (and maybe the Stranger after the diabetes but whatever valar morguilis) when it comes to how to sweeten a recipe. Because i make a double batch, I put in the entire four cup package of powdered sugar. I suggest serving it in wine glasses because it looks nice and as form of portion control for this flavor and calorie dense drink.

– Do not skip the zesting part of the recipe but do consider skipping the filtering of the zest. It enhances the flavor and sets you up for a great desert (more on that below).

I also have made some variants of a few batches, my favorites are:

– Adding one big or two small limes per quart of water. Limes actually make the mix a little bit sweeter and they add even more flavor and an even more well rounded citrus taste. If you want to use key limes you would probably need six to eight of those tiny dry fruits in place of one or two regular limes.

– Mangos and/or pineapples have been very nice in addition to and in lieu of the strawberries (although it is better when using the conjunction of “and” and not “or” when it comes to this recipe). I found that the best ratio is one mango per quart of water and one half of pineapple per quart.

– I have also served it with boba and lychee jellies. They should not go into the pitcher with the entire batch. Serve as much boba as you like in your individual serving glass.

– For the best coffee house style, summertime pick-me-up try this blend. Add ice, strong simple syrup, a generous amount of lemon sweet (and perhaps a few strawberries from the pitcher) and matcha green tea powder and blend all of the ingredients. You could also add some non dairy creamer and perhaps some boba balls.

– You can make sorbet or ice cream with this drink. If you did not filter the zest out, the last half pint or so of the drink should be mostly zest and citrus infused strawberries. Take all of that, add an ordinary simple syrup, allow it to cool and mix it with Greek yogurt and run in throw an ice cream maker or whisk it every half hour as it freezes.

– This can be easily transformed into an adult beverage or it can act as an ingredient in a few mixed drinks. If you plan on having a party put these additions into your pitcher, otherwise mix them in individual glasses or in a carafe.

* Simply add chilled vodka, the ratios are all up to you
* Add Vodka with your favorite berry and/or citrus digestifs
* Add this to gin and tonic
* Make a Reachiano version of Tinto de Verano. Add the lemon sweet to some chilled red wine (about a one to one ratio), whisk in some extra powdered sugar and some Saigon Cinnamon in a large carafe or pitcher. Put soda water over some ice and pour your wine mixture over that.
* Make mulled wine, chill it, add lemon sweet and serve over ice for a refreshing summer time version of mulled wine.

This is a new Summer staple and because I live in a fairly warm climate, I plan on making this from April through the end of October. I will also make it whenever the weather gets hot during the winter and early spring. The strawberries are pallid in flavor from November to March so that is when tropical fruit would be ideal in lieu of strawberries.

Thanks once again for this great recipe. Despite all of the variants, the best way to have this recipe is to make it as you say and just be sure to be very generous with the citrus and do not skimp on the sugar.

Thank you for this fun recipe! Lockdown has turned me into a bit of a foodie; I’m so bored that I’ve become obsessed with new tastes that cannot be bought at the stores.

I neglected to get powered sugar, so used caster sugar instead. 2 whole cups of it was too intimidating, but 1 cup of it tasted nice & sweet enough (my lemons were very small, also). Maybe next time around, when I’ve got the right sugar in, I will be more bold!.

(thank you also to everyone who’s added their notes in the comments ^_^)