Strawberry Lemonade

Happy July! Welcome to a post about the perfect summer drink. I know strawberries are about to disappear from the fields for this year so I give you permission to make it with frozen berries once the fresh ones are gone.

On a recent trip to Texas I visited Central Market, a store that didn’t exist when I was in graduate school in Austin. If it had been around then, I might not have been able to make myself leave! I lingered over Fresh Texas corn, beans, peaches, and blueberries—not to mention other gorgeous produce, wine, meat, seafood, and cheese.

The folks at Central Market were giving out samples of strawberry lemonade—a refreshing pink beverage that made the 100-degree heat in San Antonio a lot more bearable. I decided to make some as soon as possible and asked for basic instructions. They said that they strained the strawberries so I strained them in the version below, although I don’t think you really have to; after all, one eats all but the hull of strawberries normally.

My version is tartly refreshing, although Central Market’s tasted more of strawberries. Next time I make it I’ll try using twice as many berries. In the meantime, I was pleased with this recipe, which also makes terrific frozen pops.

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup strained lemon juice (about six large lemons or 8 small ones)
the zest of 1 lemon
2 cups hulled and chopped strawberries

Instructions:

In a 1-1/2-quart saucepan, heat the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice and zest, and remove the pan from the heat. Cool this mixture to room temperature, and strain out the zest.

In a blender or food processor puree the strawberries. Strain them, and add them to the lemonade. Chill until ready to use.

Makes just over 1 quart of hot-pink lemonade.

Annabelle and Michael liked the lemonade frozen into pops.