Name: Lemonade with Honey
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup sugar; 13 lemons (2 sliced thin, 11 juiced to yield 2 cups); 7 cups cold water; ½ cup honey

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a simple homemade lemonade recipe inspired by Mikaila Ulmer, the Austin, TX, native and owner of multimillion dollar lemonade company Me & The Bees. To do this, we started by mashing (or muddling) lemon slices with a tempered amount of 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. Finally, taking a note from Mikaila's lemonade, we whisked in some honey to reach balanced sweetness. Before serving, we strained the mixture and chilled it for an hour.

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 juice mixture is strained at the end of the recipe.

Instructions

Using potato masher, mash sugar and half of lemon slices in large bowl until sugar is completely wet, about 1 minute.

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

Discard any ends from remaining lemon slices. Stir in honey and remaining lemon slices and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. Stir to recombine before serving over ice.