There’s nothing like sitting in your favorite porch chair on a late summer afternoon sipping an ice-cold glass of lemonade with a friend. Watching shadows grow lazily along the grass, hearing cicadas and tree frogs come to life, and filling the air with laughter and memories.
We suppose you could enjoy a moment like this without the lemonade, but why? Lemons—particularly Meyer Lemons—are the taste of summer!
This fruit packs a sweet surprise for each one of your senses.
Easy Homemade Lemonade
Meyer Lemons Energize Your Senses
Meyer Lemons taste much sweeter than the regular lemons you find in your local grocery store. While Meyer lemons have some of the acidity you’ve come to expect in regular lemons, they’re smoother on your taste buds. So smooth and sweet that many people add raw segments of Meyer lemons to their salads and desserts.
Besides the sweeter taste of this delightful fruit, Meyer lemons set themselves apart with a more complex scent than regular lemons. Whereas the scent profile of regular lemons is simply bright, Meyer lemons bring a mixture of sweet and spicy. The depth of their aroma is a product of their origin.
Brought to the United States in 1908 from Beijing, China, the fruit on these trees was a hybrid of lemons and mandarin oranges. Meyer lemons reflect that combination with a scent reminiscent of bergamot spice, with subtle floral undertones. This small fruit adds a generous portion of nuance to any recipe calling for lemon.
Easy Homemade Lemonade
If you’re looking for an easy homemade lemonade recipe to share with your family and friends, you’ll want to begin with Meyer lemons. Using regular lemons in homemade lemonade recipes is easy enough, but you’ll find your mouth has to do more work than it should to enjoy a light, refreshing drink! The element in regular lemons that makes you want to wrinkle your face, press your lips together, and squint your eyes is acidity. As we mentioned above, Meyer lemons do have some bite, but their balanced blend of sweet and tangy make it more palatable.
If you’re planning to sit back on the front porch with a refreshing glass of lemonade, you’ll want an easy homemade lemonade recipe. Well, you’re in luck—we’d like to share one of our favorites!
Homemade Lemonade Recipe
First, you’ll want to pick up enough Meyer lemons to make 2 cups of juice. Don’t worry; we did the kitchen math for you:
One medium Meyer lemon = about 3 Tbsp of juice.
INGREDIENTS
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2 cups water
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2 cups Meyer lemon juice
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½ cup granulated sugar
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Dash of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
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In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water together until all the sugar dissolves.
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Remove sugar water from the stove and pour it into a pitcher.
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Add the Meyer lemon juice and a dash of salt to the pitcher. Stir.
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Once the lemonade has cooled to room temperature, store it in the refrigerator.
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Serve chilled and over ice.
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If you want to be fancy, cut a Meyer lemon into wedges and serve one on the rim of the glass.
This easy homemade lemonade is sweet, tangy, refreshing, and delicious!
If you want to change things up, make creamy lemonade by using condensed milk and sugar. You can also freeze it and make frosted lemonade.
Caring For Your Meyer Lemon Tree
One of the best ways to keep a steadily flowing supply of Meyer lemons for our easy homemade lemonade is to grow a Meyer lemon tree in your backyard or inside your home! Our Meyer lemon trees come to you ready to produce, so you’ll have fresh lemons within the first year.
Not only do these trees release oxygen and a sweet fragrance into the air, but they also add a vibrant pop of color and life to your landscaping or indoor décor.
These trees grow in full sun and well-drained soil.
When planting in the ground, water deeply two times per week until your dwarf citrus tree establishes. After the first few months, water when the soil begins to dry. It’s that simple!
Meyer Lemons do not like wet roots, so be sure the soil has dried down to about 2 inches, whether in the ground or containers. Citrus trees like humid environments. As a result, misting the leaves daily in dry climates is ideal.
Fertilize when planting and in early spring and late summer. Containerized plants perform better when fertilized 3 to 4 times per year. Fertilize your potted citrus with our balanced slow-release fertilizer when planting, at the end of winter, early summer, and again in fall.
Prune anytime to maintain shape and size.
The Meyer Lemon tree can grow outdoors in the ground in zones 8b to 11. Otherwise, it must be grown in containers as a patio plant or indoors. It will not tolerate freezing temperatures. Move your lemon tree inside when temperatures drop below 40 degrees.
For additional options, be sure to check out our Tropical Trees, Fruit Trees, and Dwarf Trees collection in our plant nursery.
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