[1] It’s easy add a hit of extra flavor to lemonade, from lavender to peach. Here it’s sweet heat: jalapeño slices with honey as a sweetener (photo © The Nibble).

[2] It’s easy to add a nuance of flavor to lemonade. Our favorites are ginger, lavender and lemongrass (photo © Edith Frincu | Dreamstime).

[3] After you juice the lemons, cut the peel into strips for garnish (photo © Corn Next).

[4] Add your favorite diced fruit or fruit purée. Berry and mango are very popular (photo © Koe Kombucha [now closed]).

[5] Summer is the perfect time for peach lemonade, here garnished with a sprig of rosemary (photo © Flavor & The Menu).

Updated July 2026

July 23rd is National Refreshment Day and August 20th is National Lemonade Day.

While lemonade is indeed refreshing, if the only lemonade you drink comes from a bottle, you’ve never experienced just how much more refreshing real lemonade is.

Bottled lemonades are not only pasteurized, but typically use reconstituted lemon juice. If you’ve ever tasted bottled lemon juice, you know that the flavor is simply not bright and lemony like fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Lemonade “made from concentrate” and sold like orange juice is the far better choice, as are cans of frozen lemonade and limeade concentrate.

But the best choice of all is to squeeze fresh lemons. It takes just five minutes to make a single glass, and you can adjust the sweetening to your own taste.

It’s the same with limeade.

PARTY IDEA: Get the gang together for a lemonade party. You can make the different varieties, or assign different flavors to your friends.

Below:

> Lemonade or limeade recipe.

> Strawberry-basil lemonade recipe.

> Recipe tips and party tips.

> More lemonade and limeade recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The best hydrating drinks.

> How to add spicy heat to lemonade.

> The different types of lemons: a photo glossary.

> The different types of limes: a photo glossary.

> The different types of sugar and other sweeteners: a photo glossary.

> The history of lemonade.

> The history of lemons.

> The history of limes.

> The year’s 45+ citrus holidays.
 
 
1. RECIPE: CLASSIC LEMONADE OR LIMEADE

You don’t want ice cubes to dilute your lemonade. Ideally, freeze lemonade or a complementary fruit juice (we especially like blueberry and watermelon) in ice cube trays so regular ice cubes won’t dilute the flavor. And keep the lemonade as chilled as possible to use fewer cubes.

You can also use this recipe to make fresh limeade.

Ingredients For 15 Glasses

 
Ingredients For 1 Glass Of Lemonade

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the optional lemonade ice cubes a half day in advance or the night before. For the ice cubes, we save time by reconstituting frozen lemonade concentrate instead of making lemonade from scratch. When ready to make the lemonade…

2. ROLL room temperature lemons on the counter top before squeezing. This maximizes the juice output.

3. PREPARE the superfine sugar if you’re using granulated sugar. If you don’t have a box of superfine sugar, simply pulse regular table sugar to a superfine consistency in a food processor. The time you spend to do this is more than offset by the time it will take to get table sugar to dissolve.

Another technique for dissolving table sugar is to boil the water several hours in advance, stir in the sugar to dissolve, and chill.

4. COMBINE the water, lemon juice and three-quarters of the sweetener in a pitcher; mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the sweetness bit by bit. Your goal is to keep the fresh lemon flavor first and foremost, and not make sugar the first thing you taste. It’s better to under-sweeten than over-sweeten: People can always add more sweetener to suit their individual tastes.

5. ADD ice to the glasses, fill with lemonade and garnish. Ideally, chill the lemonade prior to serving so it will be cold and require less ice.

6. ADD the garnish: Slice extra lemons or contrasting limes into wheels, and cut notches so they sit on rim of glasses. You can also notch watermelon cubes or strawberries, place blueberries or raspberries on a cocktail pick, add a sprig of lavender or rosemary, etc.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the sugar syrup. Place the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir to dissolve and let cool. When cool…

2. COMBINE the strawberries with the basil and 1/4 cup of the sugar syrup in a blender. Purée until smooth.

3. MAKE the lemonade. You can combine all ingredients in a chilled pitcher with 5 cups of ice water. Stir well. To keep the lemonade cold, add ice cubes made from reusable ice cubes or water bottler ice rods.

To make by the glass, fill an 8-ounce with ice and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of the strawberry-basil purée, 1/2 cup cold water, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup to taste. Stir well.
 

[7] There are enough recipes here to have a heck of a summer lemonade party! What if everyone came and brought a different flavor? (photo © The Nibble)
 
 
3. LEMONADE RECIPE TIPS & PARTY TIPS

Recipe Tips

 
To Make One Glass At A Time

1. COMBINE the sugar and hot water in a 16-ounce glass (we use a Pilsner glass) and stir until the sugar dissolves.

2. ADD the the lemon juice and cold water. Fill the glass to the top with ice and serve.
 
Party Tips

Set up a bar where guests can add their own sweeteners—agave, honey, noncaloric, superfine sugar or simple syrup.

You can buy or easily make the latter two, which, unlike granulated sugar, dissolve easily in cold drinks. Here’s the recipe.

For adults bottles of gin, tequila or vodka expand the options.
 
 
4. MORE LEMONADE & LIMEADE RECIPES

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Sip the punch, eat the fish (photo and recipe courtesy CocktailsDetails.com). [2] Prefer to swim with the sharks? Use shark gummies instead. Or make a statement by using four fish and one shark (photo courtesy Amazon.com).

Last summer we presented Pool Party Punch, a cocktail as blue as a swimming pool.

This year, it’s Fishbowl Punch from CocktailDetails.com, with our own variation, Shark Tank Punch.

You can also make a non-alcoholic punch (recipe below).
 
RECIPE: FISHBOWL PUNCH OR SHARK TANK PUNCH

Ingredients For 64 Ounces (1/2 Gallon*)

 
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*1/2 gallon= 64 ounces = eight 8-ounce servings = ten 6-ounce servings = or sixteen 4-ounce servings. Serving size includes ice.

†Use large ice cubes, if possible. The larger the ice, the slower it melts, the less dilution of the drink.

Preparation

1. COMINE the first five ingredients in a pitcher and stir to blend. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. When ready to serve…

2. SPRINKLE the Nerds on the bottom of the fish bowl to create “gravel,” and anchor the optional fish tank plant.

3. ADD ice to the bowl; then add the the chilled punch and the candy fish/sharks. Top off with lime slices.

4. LADLE the punch into glasses and garnish with a fish. Alternatively, you can provide the ladle and glasses for self-service.
 
NON-ALCOHOLIC VERSION

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the Kool-Aid powder and sugar in a large pitcher. Add half the water and whisk thoroughly to dissolve, making sure that the powder and sugar dissolve.

2. ADD the remaining water and the Piña Colada mix. Stir and chill for several hours or overnight. When ready to serve…

3. CONTINUE with Step 2 in the alcoholic version.

4. ADD Sprite to fill the pitcher, stir gently and serve.
 
PLANNING A WEDDING OR OTHER SPECIAL EVENT?

Take a look at CocktailsDetails.com.
 
  

Summer squash—zucchini and yellow squash—are available year-round, but are never more affordable than now.

In addition to your other favorite summer squash recipes*, make lots of squash chips for low-calorie nibbling. They’re also great to serve with beer, cocktails and wine, and as garnishes.

But start with a small batch. Try the chips plain and with different seasonings (cayenne? curry? garlic?). If you’re using a dehydrator or microwave, just divide the batch.

Make your first batch at 1/8″ thick. The thinner the chips, the crisper they are.
 
USE A DEHYDRATOR, MICROWAVE OR ACTIFRY

If you have a dehydrator, you know what to do.

You can also bake chips in the oven.

We have no space for a dehydrator, but for the past five years we’ve been devoted to Mastrad’s microwave chip maker. Chips are ready in just 3-5 minutes.

Here’s more about microwave chips, and where to get the Mastrad chip trays. We say trays, rather than tray, because they’re sold in a set of two, and we bought a second set. They’re made to stack.

Thanks to Willow Moon of CreateMindfully.com for the recipe.
 
RECIPE: SALT & VINEGAR ZUCCHINI CHIPS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SLICE the squash to 1/8-thick, preferably with a mandoline slicer. Toss them with the olive oil, vinegar and salt, to coat thoroughly.
 
OVEN VARIATION

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F/190°C). Place the coated zucchini slices on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
 
DEHYDRATOR VARIATION

1. PLACE the coated squash slices on Teflon sheets on the dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 110° for 12 hours or until crisp.

[1] Yellow squash chips (photo courtesy CreateMindfully.com. [2] Just slice and season (photo of zebra squash courtesy Burpee.com). [3] The Mastrad microwave chip maker.

1. PLACE the olive oil and sliced parsnips in the ActiFry and cook for 35 minutes, or until brown and crisp.

Here’s more about the Actifry, which comes in basic and deluxe models.
 
IN ADDITION TO SQUASH CHIPS, TRY THESE VEGETABLE CHIPS

 
These recipes may specify a particular technique, but you can slice any root vegetable and use any of the techniques above. You can also use a broad spectrum of veggies (fruits, too). Our colleague Laura makes jalapeño chips (tip: look for very large jalapeños).
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SQUASH
 
_____________________
*Our favorite is fried zucchini, but our favorite low-calorie zucchini dish is Steamed Microwave Zucchini Parmesan. Cut slices to desired thickness and team the zucchini (or yellow squash, or mixed) to al dente; you can salt them or not. Top with pasta sauce, mozzarella and a sprinkle of oregano. To save even more calories, hold the mozzarella and sprinkle with a smaller amount of grated Parmesan cheese before serving.