Old-Fashioned Blackberry Lemonade
There's no cooking and no blender needed for this old-fashioned blackberry lemonade. The berries macerate in a mason jar with sugar and boiling water, and fresh lemon juice goes in at the end for the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
Servings 4 cups
Calories 107kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh blackberries (about 6 ounces)
- ½-1 cup granulated sugar (see notes to adjust for your taste)
- Boiling water (about 2½ cups)
- ¾ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (from about 6 to 8 lemons)
- Ice, for serving
- Optional garnish: lemon wedges and fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Fill the jar. Place the blackberries and sugar in a quart-size mason jar.
- Add the boiling water. Fill the jar with boiling water and stir gently until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Let it sit. Leave the jar at room temperature until cool and deeply colored, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Mash and strain. Mash the berries lightly with a wooden spoon or potato masher, then strain the liquid from the jar through a fine mesh sieve. Don't press the pulp through.
- Add the lemon and serve. Stir together the strained blackberry liquid and the lemon juice. Pour over ice and garnish with lemon wedges and fresh mint.
Notes
- Sugar is adjustable: I prefer a tart lemonade and find 1/2 cup perfect. Use 3/4 cup for a sweeter glass, or a full cup if your family likes it as sweet as a boxed drink mix. Don't cut below 1/2 cup, since the sugar is what macerates the berries.
- Lemon is adjustable too: For a sharper, more tart drink, increase the lemon juice to 1 cup. For something softer, cut it back to 1/2 cup.
- Yield: about 4 cups, which pours four tall glasses over ice.
- Frozen berries work. Add them to the jar frozen and pour the boiling water right over. They release juice faster than fresh berries but taste slightly less bright.
- Microwave shortcut: Heat the water in a glass measuring cup on high for 5 to 7 minutes, until you see it boil. Fewer dishes than the stovetop.
- For a larger batch, use two quart jars or a half-gallon jar and scale all the ingredients together.
- Make ahead: strain the blackberry juice and refrigerate it on its own, then add fresh lemon juice by the glass over the next several days.
- Storage: keep the finished lemonade in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days, or freeze the blackberry base for up to 3 months.
- Ripeness matters. Look for dull, deep black berries. Shiny, firm blackberries are usually underripe and will give you a paler, tarter drink.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 3mg