Lemonade Concentrate

Just realized this is going to be my first post of the year, better late than never. In case you are wondering where I disappeared to, I had left a message on my FB page that I am going to Sivananda Ashram in Madurai to deepen my Yoga practice as well as teach yoga. I came back home a month ago but was totally spaced out. Was re-evaluating and questioning everything I have been doing so far. I realized I wanna teach yoga, I always knew I want to teach but hadn't seriously considered teaching other than for volunteering. Now I'm ready to take an effort to start classes for all those people who have been asking me to teach them. I also realized that I want to continue food blogging, this time not just to keep me motivated to cook but I'm on a mission to make people want to eat more Vegan dishes, not just coz it's healthier but coz it's tastier.

So that's about what's going on in my life mind. Now I should thank all of you who kept visiting this blog despite the lack of new posts. I was overwhelmed to see my stats going higher when I actually expected it to have gone down very bad. I need to specially thank Renu who blogs at It's my Space... Spice, she has been encouraging me to blog ever since I got back from Madurai. If not for her I'm sure it would have taken me longer to get back to blogging. Thanks a ton to Sarojini Didi, who blogs at The Yogi Vegetarian for the Expert Blogger Award. I wish I had seen her comment earlier; I would have definitely got the boost I needed to start blogging again.

Now let's get to the Lemonade concentrate, I personally prefer just lemon water but for my husband I started making lemonade with ginger and mint every day coz he rarely drinks any fruit juices. Since we have been working on our garden in this summer heat, we really need to keep ourselves hydrated. Every time I take a break I make a few glasses of the lemonade until I got fed up of taking long breaks. I decided to make the concentrate for the lemonade to make my life easier. 

If you ask me I will always prefer fresh ginger, mint, sugar and lemon juice whizzed in the mixer, topped with some fizzy water. This concentrate cannot beat that fresh taste of Lemonade using fresh ingredients but it is the next best thing to the fresh one. I have kept the recipe to the basic which can be played with and can be used to even enhance the flavor of fruit juices.

Ingredients:

• 12 lemons (1cup lemon juice)
• 1tbsp Grated Ginger
• 1kg Sugar
• 1¾cup Water
• Pinch of Salt

Procedure:

1. Pour Sugar in a large pan.

2. Add Ginger and water to it.

3. Heat this mixture in the pan, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

4. Set it aside to cool.

5. Strain the mixture and add lemon juice to it and mix well.

6. Now bottle it up using a funnel and store in the refrigerator.

7. Add one part of the concentrate and three parts of water or fizzy water to enjoy a refreshing drink.

PS: The final pictures in this post were photographed by two thirsty guys waiting to grab the drink.
Photography: Ranjit, Husband
Styling: Roshan, Brother-in law

I'm sure they did a great job, coz the pictures make me feel thirsty. Won't you agree?

Notes:
1. Adjust the flavours, add more lemon juice if you like it tangy.
2. The Ginger flavour is not very pronounced in the final drink but if you like, add a little extra ginger. The ginger left behind can be enjoyed as candied ginger.
3. You can add lemongrass too, if you like.
4. For a minty lemonade, add a cup of chopped mint leaves before adding the lemon juice. Let it rest for an hour to let the flavours infuse and then strain it, add lemon juice to it.
5. You can strain after adding lemon juice; I personally prefer not staining the lemon juice. 

Health and Nutrition 

• Lemonade is a healthier drink if chosen over sodas like Coke and Pepsi but it is still high on sugar so keep a tab on how much you drink.
• Citric acid in the lemon juice is a natural preservative, aids digestion. Studies found that citric acid helps dissolve kidney stones. Ascorbic acid or vitamin-C is a powerful water soluble natural anti-oxidant. Phyto chemicals in lemon juice are found to have a bio-active effect on human health as antioxidant, free radical scavenger, anti-inflammatory, and immune system modulator. Further, they contain a healthy amount of minerals like iron, copper, potassium, and calcium. Potassium in an important component of cell and body fluids helps control heart rate and blood pressure.
• Ginger has a long tradition of being very effective in alleviating symptoms of gastrointestinal distress. In herbal medicine, ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) and intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract). Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects.