This cucumber lemonade is so refreshing! It's the easiest recipe you will find without needing to make simple syrup or without scooping seeds from a cucumber. Enjoy!
1small-medium cucumberor ½ English cucumber (about 6-8 inches), peeled or mostly peeled. Make sure your cucumber is not bitter at the ends so you don't ruin your lemonade!
1cuplemon juice(from ~7-8 fresh lemons, but get more just in case yours are small)
Instructions
Combine the sugar with the boiling water in a heat-safe container and stir until all the sugar dissolves. The water must be boiling hot, not just hot. Set aside the sugar water while you prepare the rest of the lemonade.
Chop the cucumber into 3-4 pieces and place it in a blender with 1 cup of cold water. Blend until completely liquified.
Strain out the cucumber pulp by placing a fine mesh sieve over a container to catch the cucumber juice. You should have about 1.25 cups of green cucumber juice and almost ¼ cup of pulp. If you have a lot more pulp then use a spoon to try to squeeze out some more juice.
Squeeze your lemons, make sure you have 1 cup of lemon juice. If you don't have enough fresh lemons, it's OK to add a little bottled lemon juice.
In a large container, combine the lemon juice, cucumber juice, and 1 cup of your sugar water (you'll have some left over). Add 2 cups of cold water and stir. Adjust to taste by adding up to 1 cup of water and/or the rest of the sugar water. Stir and chill before serving, or serve immediately over ice.
Notes
What kind of cucumber to use: Any cucumber you have on hand will work for this lemonade, HOWEVER, please make sure to cut off the ends of the cucumbers and give them a taste before adding the cucumber to the lemonade. Some cucumbers are really bitter on the ends (or even the whole thing can be bitter), which would completely ruin this lemonade. I usually use half of an English cucumber.Should I peel the cucumber for the lemonade? I recommend peeling the cucumber at least halfway, or even most of the way to get a less green color, and to not have a super strong cucumber flavor. If your cucumbers are not organic, then definitely peel the cucumber.Adjust the sweetness and strength of your lemonade: If you like your lemonade less sugary, use about ¾ of your sugar water mixture. You can always add the rest later if you change your mind. You can use less or more cold water, to taste.Try adding fresh mint or basil blended with the cucumber or muddled into a glass, or add some fresh ginger (let it infuse with the hot sugar water, or finely grate it).