Lavender Lemonade

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Summer is here and those long, hot days call for cold refreshments. Who doesn’t love some Lavender Lemonade? It’s tart and sweet and floral all in one sip.

Why use Lavender in Lemonade?

Lavender is relatively easy to grow and is so lovely along side other herbs in an herb garden. It’s a great bug and deer repellant and I always line the chicken nesting boxes with it for a happy smell. Lavender has many medicinal properties. It can be used to aid digestion, as a pain reliever, and is probably best known for it’s calming affects related to stress or anxiety.

My favorite lavender benefit? It tastes great. If I ever use it in recipes, I only use a little. Lavender is so overpowering that you just want a hint so it doesn’t dominate the other flavors. I love the combination of rich floral notes paired with fruity, tangy lemons for this hot weather treat.

Freshly Squeeze Your Lemons

For lemonade, always freshly squeeze your lemon juice. Lemon juice in a bottle isn’t the same. (The only time I use bottled lemon juice is for canning recipes… to ensure a consistent level of acidity.)

For this recipe, you should need 6 to 8 lemons to get the right amount of juice. But as with most fruit, the juiciness can vary dramatically from lemon to lemon, so always measure.

Simply slice the lemons in half and use your juicer to express all the liquid. Pour the juice through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp before you measure. (I simply set the strainer up over my measuring cup so as I cut and juice, I can see how much more I need.)

You Don’t Have to use Fresh Lavender Flowers

If you don’t have access to fresh lavender flowers, you can absolutely use dried. Dried lavender flowers will be more concentrated, so only use 1 tablespoon for this recipe.

Make the Lemonade Mixture

Place the lavender flowers in a bowl or glass measuring cup. All ingredient measurements are listed in the recipe below.

Boil ½ cup of the filtered water and then pour the hot water over the flowers. Stir in your (preferably local and raw) honey until it’s fully dissolved in the water. Set this mixture aside while you squeeze the lemons.

(If you prefer a different sweetener, you’ll likely need to add more, depending on which sweetener you choose. I like to use raw honey for all the health benefits it offers.)

Slice the lemons and squeeze out the juice. Only slice a few at a time because you may not need as many as you think, depending on how juicy they are.

Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer directly into a measuring cup. This will remove the seeds and the pulp. Once you have the right amount of lemon juice, rinse the strainer.

Then pour the lavender honey mixture into the lemon juice through the same fine mesh strainer to remove the flowers. Stir this well.

Pour the lemonade mixture into a pitcher and top with cool, filtered water. Serve with lots of ice and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

(If you prefer a more concentrated, tart lemonade, don’t use as much water.)

What to do with all those lemon peels?

I owe this tip to a good friend of mine… and it’s genius!

If you make your own cleaners (ie. dish soap or all purpose cleaners) don’t throw out the lemon peels. Simply place them in a glass jar and cover them with vinegar. The vinegar will essentially preserve them until you’re ready. (Make sure they’re completely covered with vinegar.)

When you need to make a homemade cleaning solution that calls for vinegar, use the lemon vinegar instead! Strain out the peels first.

I’ve done this for my Dish Soap (a blend of vinegar, Sal Suds, salt, and water) and it works great. So instead of using lemon essential oil for those homemade solutions, make your own with this hack!

Leave a comment below letting me know if you tried this recipe and what you thought! Did you change up the ratios at all?

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