Bio Sparkling Ginger Lemonade

Contributor
Dino
Type
Drink

Description:

This produces roughly 400ml of concentrate, which you can then mix at roughly 1:4 ratio with sparkling water to get 2L of finished sparkling ginger lemonade.

Note about orange juice and sugar:

This recipe includes orange juice to add some sweetness in order to reduce the sugar content. If you prefer, you can get rid of the orange juice, then increase the water and lemon juice by about 50ml each, and add about 30g more sugar for a similar sweetness. You can of course also use honey instead of sugar too.

Benefit of going with higher sugar is this will keep longer.

Note about ginger:

I prefer a stronger ginger, so I peel the ginger first before weighing, and I slice it super thin. This results in more pulp surface area exposed for a stronger extraction.

Note on flavour tweaks:

  • Mint: Add handful of fresh mint to the pot when you add the sugar in the last 2 minutes of the simmer for some minty freshness
  • Turmeric: Add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric while simmering for some colour, anti-inflammatory properties and a bit of zing
  • Spice & Lime: Replace the orange juice with lime juice and add a pinch of cayenne after straining for a kick.

Note on leftover pulp and skins:

Instead of throwing out the lemon peal and ginger pulp after straining, try out this Ginger Lemon Tea Cubes option.

Ingredients:

  • 200 ml still/tap water for the concentrate prep
  • 70 grams cane sugar
  • Zest of two medium sized organic lemons
  • Juice of two medium sized organic lemons (+/- 150ml)
  • 100 ml fresh organic orange juice
  • Sliced fresh organic ginger
  • 1.5-2 litres sparkling or soda water

Method:

  1. Infuse ginger & zest
    • Combine still water, sliced ginger and lemon zest in a small pot.
    • Bring to a light boil, then simmer 10 min.
  2. Sweeten & pasteurise
    • Stir in the sugar until dissolved.
    • Hold at a gentle simmer for 2 min (also knocks out surface microbes)
  3. Cool & finish
    • Take off heat; cover and let steep 20 min more.
    • Strain through a fine sieve.
    • When the liquid is below 40 °C (warm but not hot), stir in the fruit juice. (keeps the Vitamin C brighter)
  4. Bottle & chill
    • Pour into a clean glass bottle; refrigerate.
    • Keeps about 1 week.
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To serve