Description
A delightful summer drink that combines ripe peaches and zesty lemons for a refreshing, thirst-quenching masterpiece.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6–8 ripe large peaches (about 3 pounds)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for peach puree)
- 1/2 cup water (for peach puree)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (for peach puree)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 8–10 medium lemons)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (for simple syrup)
- 1 cup water (for simple syrup)
- 4–6 cups cold water (for dilution)
- Fresh peach slices (for garnish)
- Lemon wheels or wedges (for garnish)
- Fresh mint sprigs (for garnish)
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Wash, pit, and dice the peaches. In a medium saucepan, combine diced peaches, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until the peaches soften.
- Remove the saucepan from heat. Mash the peaches thoroughly with a fork or potato masher and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl to capture smooth peach puree, discarding the solids. Allow the puree to cool completely to room temperature.
- In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water. Heat over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Juice the 8-10 medium lemons until you yield about 1 1/2 cups of fresh lemon juice. Strain it to remove seeds and pulp. In a large pitcher, combine the cooled simple syrup with the strained lemon juice, stirring to unite the flavors.
- Add the cooled peach puree to the lemonade base in the pitcher. Stir well to blend. Add 4 cups of cold water, stir, and taste. Gradually add more cold water (up to 6 cups total) until the desired strength and sweetness is achieved.
- Refrigerate the peach lemonade for at least 30 minutes. Serve over ice, garnished with fresh peach slices, lemon wheels, and mint sprigs.
Notes
Make ahead by preparing the peach puree and simple syrup the day before. For a bubbly twist, swap some or all of the dilution water with sparkling water.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 26g
- Sodium: 5mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg