Strawberry Lemonade

It’s strawberry season! Eventhough strawberries are available throughout the year, even from the Netherlands, the original season for strawberries was from May to September. The Dutch love their strawberries and they’re considered a typical summer fruit. We even call them “Zomerkoninkjes”, which means Little Summer Kings, as seen in this poster from 1974.

Strawberries contain a lot of vitamin C, more than the average citrus fruit! Vitamin C is an important antioxidant, which is needed in your body to create connective tissue, to process iron, and to keep your immune system up and running. Strawberries also contain folic acid (vitamin B11), which is an important factor for creating red and white blood cells and a lot of potassium, which helps lower your blood pressure. Do you need any more excuses to drink this health-boosting lemonade? Okay, okay, I admit, the amount of sugar is enormous, but you can always use less syrup and more water to your own taste.

Ingredients

For 1 liter freshly made lemonade

175 ml fresh lemon juice (about 3 big lemons)
125 ml water + 125 gr sugar
200 gr strawberries
500 ml water

Start by making a simple syrup from the water and sugar, by putting it in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved. You can also do this in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Pour it in a clean bottle or jar and put it in the fridge until completely cool.

Once the syrup has cooled, cut the lemons in half and press the lemon juice. Remove the seeds, but leave the bit of pulp in. Add the juice to a pitcher or bottle for serving and set aside.

Cut the strawberries and either add them to the blender to liquefy with the syrup or use a mortar and pestle like I did. Strain the strawberry juice into the pitcher or bottle with the syrup, if you haven’t already, and add the remaining water until full. Give it a stir and set in the fridge to cool.