Ginger Lemonade (Concentrate)

A quick refreshing summer sipper

And when life gives you lemons....ermm.. I know it cannot get more cliched but I HAD to use this for the post!

Try again...

When life gives you lemons…what do you do? I know you can get creative and think of a myriad things to do with lemons, but let’s stick to what we are expected to say to do? 

Make Lemonade guys !!! Just Make Lemonade! 

And that’s exactly what I did.

Have you had moments in a restaurant where you have been flipping through the menu card for quite a while, choosing your food; meanwhile completely forgetting that you've got to order your drink first? The only waitress in the restaurant filled with 50 tables, hovers over your head asking ‘What would you like to drink’ and you are so nervous of her hasty stare that you don’t even want to flip to the beverage section of the menu? 

Happens to me all the time! And every single time, I end up immediately saying ‘Lemonade please’. 

I cannot ever drink enough lemonade. Lemonade is so basic, yet so versatile.

It is a ‘must-drink’ summer drink and with this quick and easy ginger-lemonade syrup, it becomes a 'must-stock’ summer drink. Ginger and Lemon make a show-stopping pair, I’m telling you. Teas, tonics or cold beverages, these two together have extraordinary beauty and health benefits. Mix it with carbonated water for a ginger-ale-like drink.

 I have made this syrup and stored it in my refrigerator and whenever I want, I just take a glass, add syrup and cold water and voila...I have a blockbuster refreshment in a jiffy! 

Believe me, stock up on this easy-to-make syrup and it will be more than just a thirst-quenching fix. 

THE RECIPE

Category: Beverage

Servings:  ~ 500 ml syrup (10-12 glasses of lemonade)

1 cup = 200 ml

Ingredients:

 - 1/2 cup ginger juice
 - 1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
 - 1 cup sugar
 - 1 cup water 

 - Ice cubes

Instructions:

1. Peel and roughly chop the ginger. Add it to a mixer with some water and blend it well.
2. Strain the ginger juice out (about 100 ml) and keep aside. for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the white residue from the ginger juice settles at the bottom of the container. Strain the juice again,  leaving behind the residue. 
3. In a medium saucepan, add sugar and water and stir well until dissolved. Place the vessel on medium heat and boil for about 7-10 minutes until the sugar dissolves well into a syrup. Let it cool.
4. Mix the ginger extract, cool sugar syrup and  freshly extracted lemon juice in a pitcher or jar.
5. Pour into clean and dry glass bottles and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Multiply the measure of ingredients as per the servings needed. 
6. To make the lemonade, fill 1/4 glass with ginger-lemonade syrup, the rest with ice cubes and water or carbonated water.
7. Mix well and garnish with thin lemon slices or mint and serve !!!