Strawberry Lemonade
اسٹرابیری لیمونیڈ
Strawberry lemonade is classic lemonade with a fresh strawberry purée stirred through it, turning it a natural ruby pink. In Pakistan it is at its best in late winter and spring, when local strawberries from Swat and the Punjab fill the markets and are cheap and fragrant. Straining the purée is the step that makes this version work: it removes the seeds and pulp, so the lemonade is smooth and bright rather than thick and gritty.
- ⏱ Total: 15 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Easy
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Wash the strawberries, pull off the green tops and cut them in half. Keep 2–3 berries aside, sliced, for garnish.
Put the strawberries, sugar and half a cup of the water in the blender and blend for about 1 minute, until completely smooth and bright red.
Pour the purée through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing with the back of a spoon to push through all the juice. Discard the seeds left in the sieve.
Add the lemon juice and the remaining 3 cups of cold water and stir for 30 seconds, until any sugar at the bottom has dissolved.
Taste: it should be sweet and tart at once. Add more sugar or lemon a little at a time, then refrigerate for 30 minutes if you have time.
Add the ice and stir once. Pour into glasses, garnish with the sliced strawberries, lemon slices and mint, and serve.
Kitchen notes
Taste a strawberry before you start. Sour, early-season berries may need a few extra spoons of sugar; very sweet ones need less.
Don't skip the straining. Unstrained purée makes the lemonade cloudy and leaves a layer of seeds at the bottom of every glass.
A spring drink for strawberry season
Strawberries arrive in Pakistani markets around February and stay until about April, grown mainly in Swat, around Islamabad and across the Punjab. For those few weeks they are cheap, deeply red and fragrant, and strawberry lemonade is one of the simplest ways to enjoy them. It is a natural fit for spring birthday parties, family picnics and early Ramadan iftars when the season overlaps, and its colour makes it look festive without any food colouring at all.
Purée, strain, then balance
The method has three parts. First the strawberries are blended with the sugar and a little water. Blending with sugar draws out the juice and dissolves the sugar at the same time, so nothing stays gritty later. Next the purée is pressed through a fine sieve. This removes the tiny seeds and fibrous pulp, leaving a clear, ruby juice that mixes smoothly into the lemonade instead of settling in a thick layer. Finally, the lemon juice and cold water go in, and the drink is balanced by taste. Strawberries vary a lot in sweetness from week to week, so tasting and adjusting at the end matters more than following the sugar measurement exactly.
Variations
- Strawberry mint: blend 8 to 10 mint leaves with the strawberries.
- Sparkling: make a concentrate with less water and top with soda water in the glass.
- Mixed berry: replace a third of the strawberries with raspberries or mulberries (shahtoot) when in season.
Storing and serving
Keep the lemonade covered in the fridge for up to two days, without ice. Add ice only to the glasses or just before serving so the drink doesn’t dilute. Chilled strawberry purée can also be frozen in ice-cube trays and dropped into plain lemonade later.
Questions people ask
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Yes. Thaw them first and use the juice that collects in the bowl too. Frozen berries are a good way to make this drink outside strawberry season.
How long does strawberry lemonade keep?
Without ice, it keeps for up to 2 days in a covered jug in the fridge. Stir before serving, as the purée settles.
Can I make it fizzy?
Use only 1 cup of water to make a concentrate, then top each glass with chilled soda water just before serving.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 130
- Protein
- 0 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
