Frozen Lemonade Concentrate

5 from 10 votes

This homemade frozen lemonade concentrate not only makes making lemonade a breeze, it can also be used for baked treats with all the same convenience!

Prep Time30

Cook Time5

Freezing Time8

Total Time8 35

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Servings: liter

Calories: 1813.7kcal

Author: Priya Maha

Ingredients

500 ml lemon juice (approximately 6 lemons)
440 g sugar
250 ml water
1 teaspoon lemon rind (grated)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Wash and pat the lemons dry.
Grate the rind of one lemon. Set aside.
Roll the lemons on the kitchen countertop with the palms of your hand to soften the skin and loosen the pulp inside. Cut each fruit in half and squeeze the juice.
Strain and measure the juice. Cover and keep refrigerated.
In a medium-sized pot, add the sugar and water. Turn on the heat to medium-low.
Add the grated lemon rind and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Once the sugar is all dissolved, turn off the heat and let the sugar syrup cool down to room temperature.
Strain to remove the lemon rind.
Mix the strained lemon juice into the sugar syrup until well combined.
For liquid lemonade concentrate, pour the concentrate into a clean and dry bottle. Keep the lid on and keep it refrigerated.
For frozen lemonade concentrate, pour it into smaller molds or containers. Freeze until completely set. Remove the frozen concentrate blocks from the molds/containers and keep them frozen in a sealed zip lock bag or a container with a cover.

Notes

You can use any type of lemons for this recipe. For effective juicing, roll the lemons with your palm on your kitchen countertop before cutting and juicing. This helps with easier juicing of the fruits. You can use a citrus pressor or a citrus juicer. Both are better than trying to squeeze out the juice with your bare hands unless you have the strength to do that for about 5 to 6 lemons.
Also, remember to grate the lemon for rind before you cut and squeeze them. It is a lot easier to grate the rind from a full, plump fruit than one that has been squeezed out.
When measuring the lemon juice, do it after straining it. When juicing the fruits, you will end up with some of the seeds and pulp in it. These are best removed by straining the juice for a smooth lemonade concentrate.

How to Use the Frozen Lemonade Concentrate to Make Lemonade Drink

To use the lemonade concentrate, mix it with water (or soda water, club soda or sparkling water) at a 1:3 ratio (1 part of the frozen concentrate and 3 parts chilled water). Reduce the water slightly if you wish to add ice cubes to avoid the lemonade from becoming diluted.

Using the liquid lemonade concentrate:

To make lemonade in a 2 liters pitcher: Add 500ml of lemonade concentrate into the pitcher. Top with 1500ml of chilled water. Mix and serve. Reduce the water if you wish to add ice cubes.
To make lemonade drink in a single serving of 350ml: Add 75ml of lemonade concentrate into the glass. Top it with 225ml chilled water. Stir to mix and serve. Reduce the water if you wish to add ice cubes.
In baked goods or other treats: As specified in the recipe

Using the frozen lemonade concentrate:

If you freeze your lemonade concentrate in large blocks (for eg 500ml), it is best to let the concentrate melt first before mixing it with water. If you freeze the concentrate in smaller molds, the concentrate will not take too long to melt and therefore, need not be melted first before using.

To make lemonade drink in a 2000ml pitcher: Use the same measurement as above. For easy use, freeze the concentrate in 500ml volume ziploc bags or molds and label accordingly. Let the concentrate melt/thaw first before mixing the lemonade drink.
To make lemonade drink in a single serving of 350ml: Use the same measurement as the liquid concentrate above. For easy use, freeze the concentrate in 75ml capacity molds. To make the lemonade, simply drop one cube of the frozen concentrate into your glass and top it with water. Let it melt completely before adding any ice and serving.
In baked goods or other treats: Thaw the concentrate first and use as specified in the recipe

Nutrition