It is the end of the summer here in Sunny South Africa, but the temperatures are still in the high 20's or low 30's (75-90 F). There is nothing like a refreshing drink after a long day's work in the garden. My go-to drink is a lemon cordial with some sparkling water and ice. As you could gather from my previous post's, the shop where I buy my veggies and fruit always have bulk specials. I bought a big bag of lemons for only something like $2.00. It was a massive bag! What do you do when life gives you lemons? Rather than lemonade, you make lemon cordial! Thanks to the method of YouTuber Adam Ragusea, I always have a nice cordial in the fridge. With some minor additions and changes to his method, this is definitely a must for everyone who likes a zesty and sour drink! Without further ado, here is my method and recipe (that you can substitute with any citrus).

Zesting your Lemons

The most important step to this recipe, in my opinion, is to zest your lemons or any citrus you are using. Most of the flavour is packed in the outer layer of the skin. A net trick to see if the zest is something you want, take your nail and bruise the outer skin of the citrus fruit. If the smell is a flavour you'd like in your drink, zest that citrus! You will see below why this is of utmost importance.

(It is not super important to get all the zest if you have a lot of citrus fruits. Some of them zest easier, some a little harder. Very ripe fruit tends to zest harder.)

Juice your Lemons

I like to hand juice my lemons. I am still young and have the stamina to do it. It works your wrists! So if you do not have strong wrists, opt for an electronic juicer. I love the smell of lemon juice, so I love to use my hands for this step.

Repeat, Repeat and Repeat

As I said, I bought a big bag of lemons. I mean big in the most literal sense of the word. So I worked for a couple of hours. Sometimes I question my own sanity when I need to process the bulk items I buy. But at the end of it all, I always enjoy the fruits of my labour.

A Simple Syrup Plus Some Citric Acid

The next step is to make roughly half the amount of lemon juice in a simple syrup mixture. To my knowledge, this is one part water and one part sugar. As I want to make this a little less sugary, I opt for a ratio of 1 part water and 3/4 part brown sugar. I also add some citric acid (as this will help the final product to be more shelve stable - but you do not want to keep it too long, it will start to ferment!).

Boil, Cool Down, and the Leftover Zest

Bring the mixture to a boil, and turn off the heat. Let it cool for a minute or two, then add all of the lemon zest that you saved. This will impart an absolute and amazing lemony flavour.

Strain, Mix, and Store

At this stage, you have two liquids: the lemon juice and the simple syrup with the zest (which is room temperature now). Strain the simple syrup and mix both liquids. (Don't throw away the zest! See at the end why!) I do not strain the lemon juice, as I love the pieces of lemon still in the final product. But if you want a clean lemon cordial, strain the lemon juice as well. I store the cordial in swing-top bottles. I find this to last the longest.

The Leftover Zest

The leftover zest is coated with sugar. Set it outside for a couple of hours to dry and harden, and you are left with an awesome condiment you can throw over a salad or anything you want to impart of some intense (and sweet) lemon flavour. I absolutely love to add some sprinkles of this hardened and sweet zest on a salad or in a pesto.

And Finally, Preparing a Refreshing Cold Drink

Finally, after all the work, you can enjoy the fruits of your labour! I usually mix 1/3 part cordial and 1 part soda or carbonated water. It is rather sour and sweet so you do not want to add too much. With some ice, and this is one absolute awesome drink on a hot day. Please feel free to make this and use your imagination to make something awesome! (In season, I use grapefruits and oranges and tangerines, the world is your oyster!).