How to make Homemade Lemonade from
Fresh Portuguese Lemons, in just 10 Easy Steps!
Although Portugal is best known for its vineyards and beautiful wine and Port, there are other drinks that can be made from your own fruit trees, that are also much healthier and easier for you to make in less than 10 minutes! The Algarve has a perfect climate to grow fruit trees.
If your home doesn’t come with orange and lemon trees already in the garden, you can purchase baby trees in Supermarkets and garden centres to plant. Bags of freshly picked oranges are regularly sold on the roadside. Alternatively you may be lucky enough to live next door to lovely Portuguese neighbours, who grow their own fruit and vegetables and kindly drop some off at your doorstep, which is what inspired us to share this recipe. (Well we couldn't do property viewings during the lockdown, so we thought we'd give you a Taste of Life in Portugal instead).
We all hear how orange juice is really healthy for you and simple to make, you just juice it, but did you know lemons are also full of vitamin C too, though lemon juice is too sour to drink alone. Here’s how you can enjoy a refreshing ice cold glass of Homemade Portuguese Lemonade poolside (hopefully), during the long hot summers of the Algarve!
Follow our old Portuguese Recipe for Homemade Lemonade, using just 3 ingredients:-
Lemons
Water
Sugar*
Kitchen Equipment you will need:-
Juicer (manual or electric, or a fork if you have neither)
Knife
Measuring jug
Fine sieve
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Glass jug
Cooking hob
How to make Homemade Lemonade from Fresh Portuguese Lemons, in just 10 Easy Steps:-
1. Gently roll your lemons, we find this softens the lemons to produce more juice.
2. Slice each lemon in half.
3. Place the lemon half in the juicer to squeeze the juice out, one by one.
4. Empty the lemon juice, using the sieve to catch the lemon pips and bits, transferring the smooth lemon juice to a measuring jug.
5. Measure the lemon juice, note it, then transfer the lemon juice to the glass jug. Only by measuring the lemon juice you press, will you know how much water and sugar you need.
6. Use the measuring jug to measure your equal ingredients of water#, then transfer the water to the saucepan.
7. Then use the measuring jug to measure your equal ingredient of sugar#, then transfer the sugar to the saucepan.
8. Place the saucepan with the water and sugar on the hob to gently boil.
9. Stir the saucepan contents continuously until the sugar dissolves (disappears), then turn the hob off.
10. Next transfer the sugar and water mix to the large glass jug containing the lemon juice, stirring with the wooden spoon. Now you’ve made lemonade, place in the fridge to cool! (For Pink Lemonade, just add Cranberry Juice and Strawberries).
#Tip! Though this recipe is equal parts lemon juice, water and sugar, you can adjust the sugar and water content to suit your tastebuds;- less water if you prefer it more sour or more sugar if you like it sweet or more water if you like a more subtle taste of lemon. This recipe of equal parts measure of the 3 ingredients, has a strong flavour.
We used a stainless steel manual juice press. This piece of kitchen equipment is used for juicing oranges and lemons, is hard wearing, easy to keep clean and we love displaying it in our kitchen. However you can use a simple juicer or use a fork by twisting it around the lemon half, placed over the measuring jug, and sieve it afterwards. You can purchase the kitchen equipment from Ikea.com.
Watch the video here.