Name: Cucumber-Mint Lemonade
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups sugar; 2 lemons , sliced thin, seeds and ends discarded, plus 2 cups juice (12 lemons); 2 cucumbers , peeled and sliced thin; 1 1/2 cups fresh mint leaves; 7 cups cold water

Why This Recipe Works

Homemade flavored lemonade is easier to make than you might think. We simply mashed (or muddled) lemon slices, a peeled cucumber, and fresh mint with granulated sugar to extract the oils contained in the lemon peel and punch up the lemon flavor. We then whisked in some water and freshly squeezed lemon juice—no simple syrup needed. A bit of whisking was all that was needed to dissolve the sugar. Before serving, we strained the mixture and chilled it for an hour. As a garnish, we added a few more cucumber slices and fresh mint leaves.

Before You Begin

When purchasing lemons, choose large ones that give to gentle pressure; hard lemons have thicker skin and yield less juice. Lemons are commonly waxed to prevent moisture loss, increase shelf life, and protect from bruising during shipping. Scrub them with a vegetable brush under running water to remove wax, or buy organic lemons. Don’t worry about the seeds in the extracted juice; the entire mixture is strained at the end of the recipe. Serve poured over ice, if desired. Note that we recommend chilling the lemonade for 1 hour prior to serving.

Instructions

Using potato masher, mash sugar, half of lemon slices, half of cucumber slices, and 1 cup mint leaves in large bowl until fruit is thoroughly crushed and sugar is completely wet, about 3 minutes.

Add water and lemon juice and whisk until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl or pitcher, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids.

Add remaining lemon slices, remaining cucumber slices, and remaining 1/2 cup mint to strained lemonade and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve.