Easy Raspberry Lemonade Recipe
It’s been SO hot lately. Like 107 degrees for the past three days. All I keep thinking about is this Raspberry Lemonade.
Nothing better that a COLD refreshing drink on a hot day.
This can be made with raspberries, raspberry puree, frozen berries, or pie filling, with lots of flavor options there.
Or any berry fruit like strawberry, blueberry, blackberry. Fruit purees are readily available in stores.
To use fresh berries, simmer fresh berries with sugar, try 2 tablespoons of sugar for every cup of berries, using more sugar if the berries are less sweet or you like it sweeter.
In a saucepan, heat the berries and sugar over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, add a couple of tablespoons of water, and heat until the berries soften.
Then, press the mixture through a fine strainer to remove any pulp, seeds, skins, or things that will get stuck in teeth. It can have texture, you just don’t want large pieces.
Add lemon for that burst of bright citrus flavor (or give orange or lime a try).
I’ve made a gallon and two gallons for parties. You can use a lemonade mix to keep it simple or use fresh lemons if you have lots of them. Add some fresh lemon if you use a mix so it has a fresh lemon flavor.
Slices of lemons are key to give it a fresh look, and add some whole fresh berries on top or in the glasses.
Turn it into a cocktail and SPIKE IT, add some champagne or prosecco. Add vodka or tequila and lighten it up with some seltzer or clear soda.
Do you think it would work to use Sweet Meyer Lemons in your raspberry lemonade recipe? Has anyone tried it? If so, I would love to hear your comments.
Beth
Mmm, this does look refreshing! Yum!
Pie filling is a great shortcut! I love strawberry lemonade, but have never tried raspberry. It looks so pretty and refreshing!
You give us all the perfect remedy for all these heat waves and record high temperatures. What a fabulous raspberry lemonade recipe! I liked it so much that I forwarded it to several friends. Just reading your description not only makes me crave lemonade but it strikes up nostalgic memories of many summers ago when my grandmother got all of us kids together to roll and pound the lemons to make the lemons juicier just before she made fresh lemonade. I also like your recommendations regarding the use of fresh lemons in lemonade. Fresh lemons have such a distinctive fragrance that bottled juice just doesn't match. Plus fresh lemons have all those healthy live enzymes. As Betty Wrenn Day likes to say, "The lemon is the quintessential fruit that makes food sparkle. It has become synonymous with the word refreshing."
Where I live we don't have easy access to fresh lemons, so what I do is just go online (https://www.buy-lemons-online.com/ ) and order from growers that pick them right off the trees and ship them direct — a tip I learned from my cousin in Montana. This way I get fresh lemons picked from the tree without all the time with the lemons sitting in cartons, trucks and warehouses as they they are shipped from growers to markets all over the country.
Marcia
Newbury Park, CA
Wow..107! That is hot. Good thing you had this refreshing drink. Sounds so good. It is hot on the east coast too…in the 90's for several days so far.
Great idea to use the pie filling!
Genius! I am officially a stalker of this blog 🙂
If you ever get down to San Diego…We just found a great place to eat in the Gas Lamp District-Little Italy
Fillipis Pizza Grotto…you stand in line in this tiny meat market to sit in the restaurant in back. When we went the line was out the door.The Lasagna is to die for!
Jana
That looks so good! And very refreshing. It's been hot here too, my house is cold right now though, I have a sweatshirt on 🙂
~Liz