On a scorching hot summer day, there’s nothing more refreshing than a cold glass of lemonade. It doesn’t matter how old you are, either. Kids from one to 92 enjoy it! The Pioneer Woman is a huge fan of the stuff: “Making a big ol’ batch of lemonade is one of my favorite summertime rituals,” Ree Drummond says.
And while Ree’s homemade lemonade recipe only takes four simple ingredients, it does take a bit of time to make. Even she jokes that juicing that many lemons will “make you want to take a nap.” Especially when the store-bought kind is so easy to grab, it’s tempting to skip the whole process and just serve that instead. But whether it’s from powder, concentrate, or it was pre-mixed for you, it won’t taste as lemony as when you make it from scratch.
So, can you make store-bought lemonade taste homemade? Many store-bought lemonades are very sweet and artificial-tasting, but with a few simple tricks, you can make store-bought lemonade taste better and more like the homemade kind. Then all you have to do is set up a lemonade stand, and no one will be the wiser. (Kidding about the stand part, unless you want your kids to earn their keep this summer.😉)
How to Make Store-Bought Lemonade Taste Homemade
There are a few ways to tackle the flavor issues of store-bought lemonade. First, give it a taste. Is it too sweet? To start, dilute it with a little bit of spring or sparkling water. Taste it again. If the sweetness is to your liking, but it doesn’t taste as lemony as you want, you can either add a dash of lemon extract or add one or two fresh lemons or limes. If you have time, citrus slices will steep after a few hours in the fridge. Or to speed things up, just juice one right in the mixture.
If sweetness isn’t the issue, but rather the artificial taste, one or two fresh lemons or limes will help balance that out. Again, if you have time, slices will take a few hours or you can go straight for the juice. You can even use the pre-squeezed bottled lemon juice. No one is looking! Though if you use real lemons, adding a few slices to the pitcher will make it look more authentic, too.
How to Make Store-Bought Lemonade Taste Better
If you’ve tried those hacks and the lemonade still isn’t quite where you want it to be, switch up the flavor profile! Adding freshness will help mask the artificial flavor of store-bought lemonade. Try muddling fresh mint, basil, or culinary lavender into the mixture to perfume it. How about sparkling ginger lemonade? Or go with fresh fruit. Both blueberry lemonade and strawberry lemonade will help add real, fresh flavor to balance out the artificial taste.
You can always add iced tea for Arnold Palmers or blitz it up with vanilla ice cream for frozen lemonade. And don’t forget the booze! You can also spike lemonade for the adults. Nothing quite masks artificial flavor like distracting the taste buds with rum, tequila, or vodka. So, although store-bought lemonade will never quite be the same as homemade, you now have several hacks to fix it for an enjoyable sip.
