Fresh Mint Limeade
The second the weather turns warm, a pitcher of this lives in my fridge. Fresh limeade is worlds away from anything from a bottle — bright, tart, barely sweet, and endlessly gulpable on a hot afternoon.
The move that makes it taste homemade and not just sweet is a quick simple syrup. Dissolving the sugar in a little warm water first means no gritty undissolved crystals at the bottom of the glass — it blends seamlessly into the cold juice.
Muddle the mint gently in the syrup while it's warm to coax out the oils without shredding it into bitter little flecks. Then it's just lime juice, cold water, and a lot of ice. Simple, and somehow exactly right.
Mia's tips
- •Roll the limes on the counter before juicing to get more juice out.
- •Muddle mint gently — bruise it, don't pulverize it, or it turns bitter.
- •Make it a spritzer by topping with sparkling water instead of still.
Recipe
Fresh Mint Limeade
Tart, sweet, and cooling — a jar of fresh limeade muddled with mint that tastes like the first warm afternoon of summer.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Stir the sugar into the warm water until fully dissolved to make a simple syrup.
- 2Add the mint to the warm syrup and muddle gently. Let it steep 5 minutes, then remove the mint.
- 3Combine the minted syrup, lime juice and cold water in a pitcher and stir.
- 4Taste and adjust with more water or lime. Serve over plenty of ice with lime slices.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
