by This recipe is the brain child of my friend. The originial recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine and was for Strawberry Lemonade. Just substitute strawberries for the peaches if you’d like. Strawberry Lemonade makes beautiful Christmas gifts…especially if you give the jars dressy labels…either way, this concentrate mixed with lemon-lime soda makes for a very schmancy drinking experience!
Peach Lemonade
- 4 quarts peaches, peeled and pitted
- 4 cups fresh lemon juice (16 lemons) or 32 oz. ReaLemon
- 3 quarts water
- 6 cups sugar
In a blender, puree fruit. Place in a large (very large!) kettle; add lemon juice, water, and sugar. Bring to 165 degrees F over medium heat, stirring occasionally (do not boil). Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4 ” headspace. Adjust caps. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water bath. To serve: Mix about 1/3 concentrate with 2/3 lemon-lime soda or ginger ale. Yield: 6-7 quarts concentrate.
Next way we’re planning on tweaking this recipe: Cherry Limeade…mmm!
Excellent! I made this tonight – tweaked a bit. 6 cups pureed peaches, 6 cups sugar, 4 cups lemon juice. (Ball’s version like this is for strawberry-lemonade concentrate) It made 6 pint jars and is delicious. I also tried the cherry limeade – made with the same proportions but with Lime juice of course. Also wonderful!
Yummy! I’m so glad you made it and came here to report!!!
Hey Mary, I have been making Elderflower cordial over here and Samuel loves it either diluted with well water, on the rocks, or made fizzy with club soda. This is my first year for this, although I’ve made elderberry syrup and jams for years. Next year I plan to start earlier and make more (end of the season for the blooms now, but the berries are ripening! Thannk You Lord for the bounty…) It is supposed to be helpful for respiratory problems, as well as just being a delightfully refreshing drink (I taste the elderberry flavor, though it is a golden yellow color, more even than the fragrance of the flowers).
Also, a question. Have you gals tried Pamona’s pectin for reduced or no sugar (or allows you to use honey, agave or fruit juice concentrate as sweeteners) jams? What do you think?
Bye for now. Rachael
Hi Rachael,
Mmm! Your Elderberry cordial sounds wonderful!!! I wish I had more hours in my day…to hunt up some elderberries when they are in season…they aren’t anymore, are they? I know sandhill plums are ready NOW. Need to get to picking, ASAP.
YES, the Pamona pectin works great for jams. In fact, two years ago, we made some phenomenal sandhill plum jam with it, but I can only vouch for using it with reduced sugar, not honey. Haven’t tried that yet. Maybe someone else can share their experiences with it. I did find this wonderful blog post, with a recipe for Blueberry Honey Jam made with Pamona and honey…and the author says it’s perfect! You might want to check it out, w/blueberry season upon us! http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/2012/07/my-entry-1.html
Have a great day!
Mary
Made this today with the peach juice I had left over from canning. Used half lemon and half lime juice. My family raved over the leftover concentrate I gave them. Wonderful stuff!
Mmm, we love it too! I haven’t gotten to make it this year…yet! We’ve made fresh peach lemonade by juicing peaches, adding juiced blackberries and mixing it with lemonade to drink fresh–wowsers! That was amazing! Happy end ‘o summer to you!
I made a batch of this today. Great taste but not tart enough for me so I added an additional 2 cups of lemon juice. Even my husband, Sir Cranky, liked it. I have made both the strawberry lemonade and cherry limeade in the past. We loved them all and they make wonderful gifts along with some green chili jam..