Refreshing Peach Lemonade Drink (Printable Version)
Sweet peaches meet zesty lemon in this refreshing summer beverage. Quick to prepare and endlessly customizable.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Fruit Base
01 - 3 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
02 - 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
03 - Zest of 1 lemon
→ Sweetener
04 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar (or agave syrup for vegan option)
05 - 1/2 cup water
→ To Serve
06 - 3 cups cold water
07 - Ice cubes, as needed
08 - Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
09 - Peach slices and lemon wheels, for garnish (optional)
# Directions:
01 - In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1/2 cup water. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sugar has fully dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
02 - Add the sliced peaches, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and lemon zest to a blender. Purée on high until completely smooth.
03 - Pour the peach purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pitcher, pressing with a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
04 - Add the cooled simple syrup and 3 cups of cold water to the pitcher. Stir thoroughly until well combined.
05 - Taste the lemonade and adjust sweetness or tartness by adding more sugar or lemon juice as desired.
06 - Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld, or serve immediately over ice.
07 - Pour over ice-filled glasses and garnish with fresh mint leaves, peach slices, and lemon wheels.
# Top Tips:
01 -
- It comes together in twenty minutes flat and tastes like summer in a glass, no special equipment beyond a blender required.
- The balance of sunny peach sweetness and bright lemon bite is the kind of thing that makes people close their eyes and smile after the first sip.
02 -
- If your peaches are firm and underripe the lemonade will taste thin and sharp, so either wait a day or two for them to soften or let them sit in a paper bag overnight to speed things along.
- Straining the purée is optional but skipping it gives the drink a rustic, pulpy texture that some people love and others find distracting, so decide based on your own preference.
03 -
- Rub a lemon wedge around the rim of each glass before pouring and your guests will think they are at a restaurant.
- A pinch of salt in the pitcher sounds wrong but it actually heightens the peach flavor and rounds out the sweetness in a way that makes people lean in for another sip.