State Fair Lemonade Recipe
The perfect recipe for lemonade–State Fair lemonade is the best you will ever make. It has the perfect amount of sweetness and tang and the lemon flavor is super intense! I have to thank Chef John from Food Wishes for this one. And while normally I try not to repeat too many of other bloggers’ recipes, this one was too good to ignore.
Why Is This the Best Lemonade?
This State Fair style lemonade is the best for a couple of reasons. First, it’s super economical because it uses the entire lemon (except for the bitter white pith). Most of the lemon’s flavor lives in the yellow part of the skin, so it makes perfect sense. The oils in the skins get drawn out through the process of maceration, not unlike when you cover berries in sugar to make them more flavorful. You mix the peels with the sugar, allow it to sit and time does all the work. You will see that it will be a goopy, sugary mess in your bowl just waiting to flavor your lemonade.
Can I Reduce the Sugar?
You can if you like a very tart lemonade, but I would use the full amount. While it might seem like a lot of sugar in this recipe, for the amount of lemon juice 6 average size lemons can yield (about 3/4 cup), you might need it. Coming form someone who loves to scale back on sugar in recipes because everything is too sweet, this was a case when I was happy I added the full amount. The sugar not only balances the sourness of the juice but it also minimizes any bitterness that could occur from the peels.
How Long Is Homemade Lemonade Good For?
Homemade lemonade will last for up to one week in the refrigerator. Be sure it is well covered in a serving pitcher and it will always be chilled whenever you are ready to serve it.
I hope you will give Chef John’s recipe a try–I sure am glad I did! If you already make your own lemonade a different way, I can almost promise you will not go back after trying this one. Let me know how it turned out for you!
State Fair Lemonade
Ingredients
- 6 lemons large; use more if small
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 5 cups water
Instructions
- Wash lemons very well under hot water. This will remove any waxy residue that might be on the lemons. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow part of the skin, leaving as much of the white part behind as possible. This white pith could make your lemonade slightly bitter. Add skins to a medium bowl and set remaining lemons aside.
- Pour the sugar over the lemon skins and toss together to coat well. Now cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 2-12 hours. The sugar will pull out the natural oils in the skins that will flavor the lemonade.
- Add 2 cups of the water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the lemon peel/sugar mixture and allow to simmer gently on low for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the remaining 3 cups of water to the mixture. This will cool it down quickly. Now cut the remaining lemons in half and juice them into the mixture. Be sure it is not too hot still (it's okay if it's a little warm) or the brightness of the lemon juice will dissipate. Once all the juice has been added, strain the mixture into a serving container. Chill for a few hours before serving over ice.