Rita's Mint Lemonade

A family friend developed a lemonade so purely delightful to my tastebuds that I begged her for the recipe. She most graciously passed it on to me, and I present to you the most refreshing drink I've ever had.

Tip: Juicing this many lemons manually can wrack out the wrist, I recommend a citrus juicer if you juice over 20 lemons at a time.

Mint Simple Syrup Ingredients:

• 2-person 2-day portion
  a. 4 cups water
  b. 2 oz fresh mint leaves (approx)
  c. 3-4 cups sugar (to taste, sweet or tart)
• Medium-sized party portion
  a. 6 cups water
  b. 3 oz fresh mint leaves (approx)
  c. 5-6 cups sugar (to taste, sweet or tart)

Wash the mint leaves. In a small pot, combine the water with the sugar and mint leaves. Boil, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves. Turn the stove off and let the water cool to room temperature.

Lemonade Ingredients

• 2-person 2-day portion
  a. 12 cups water
  b. 4 cups fresh lemon juice (24-30 small lemons squeezed dry)
• Medium-sized party portion
  a. 18 cups water
  b. 6 cups fresh lemon juice (36-40 small lemons squeezed dry)

Instructions

1. Strain the lemon juice a few times to remove pulp and seeds.
2. Combine lemon juice and water.
3. Pour the mint simple syrup through a sieve to remove the mint leaves. Squeeze those mint leaves to get maximum amount of minty flavor.
4. Mix mint simple syrup with lemon juice and water.
5. Pour over ice (or put in the fridge overnight) and enjoy!

Tip: You can pluck the mint leaves off the stems, but I find it doesn’t matter if I just wash the bunch of mint and throw it all in the pot. De-leafing is very tedious and there’s not an appreciable difference.

Recipe given by Rita.