- Recipes
- Lavender Lemonade with Grapefruit and Thyme
Lavender Lemonade with Grapefruit and Thyme
Ingredients
Step by step process
Preparing the Lavender Syrup
- 1
In a small saucepan, combine 200 ml of water with honey, dried lavender, and thyme sprigs. Slowly bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring continuously until the honey has completely dissolved.
- 2
Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let the syrup gently bubble for about 3 minutes to release the aromas of lavender and thyme. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely with the lid on so the flavors can deepen.
TIP:Herbal syrup is cooked only over very low heat for 3-5 minutes. Immediately after removing from the stove, let it cool under a lid, this deepens the flavor and preserves aromatic essential oils that are sensitive to temperature.
- 3
Strain the cooled syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pitcher and discard the solids.
Preparing the Citrus Juice
- 4
Thoroughly wash the pink grapefruits and lime under hot water and pat dry. Peel a thin strip of zest from one grapefruit and set aside for later.
- 5
Halve the grapefruits and squeeze their juice through a sieve into the pitcher with the cooled syrup, catching any pulp and seeds. Squeeze the lime juice in the same way.
- 6
Add the grapefruit zest and let everything macerate for 10 minutes at room temperature to bring out the citrus aroma.
Serving
- 7
Before serving, remove the grapefruit zest from the pitcher, then top up with cold sparkling water. Stir gently with a long spoon to preserve the bubbles.
- 8
Fill tall glasses with a handful of ice, a slice of pink grapefruit, and a sprig of thyme, pour over the lemonade and serve immediately.
More tips:
You can make a larger batch of the syrup and store it in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, it also works as a base for cocktails with gin or prosecco.
