Strawberry Limeade

Today’s Strawberry Week recipe is Strawberry Limeade! Pretty self-explanatory: strawberry simple syrup, limeade concentrate, lime juice and zest, a couple other things, and you’ve got one of the best drinks ever! EVER, I said! Ok let’s just into the meat of this thing:

Strawberry Limeade Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Strawberry Limeade recipe:

• Strawberries: Frozen berries will work if you don’t have access to excellent fresh ones. They’ll go in the pot whole, but make sure they’re cleaned well before that. If you use frozen berries there’s no need to thaw or drain them – you’ll just want to steep them about 10 minutes longer before cranking the heat up to high.
• Frozen limeade concentrate: I opt to use this rather than tons and tons of lime juice, but feel free to omit it and add more lime juice. You’ll need about 2 cups of lime juice, which will probably require a couple bags of limes. I can’t speak to how bottled lime juice would taste in this Strawberry Limeade.
• Lime juice, lime zest: Fresh squeezed, and freshly grated! It’s important! Without these two, the strawberries overpower the lime flavor.
• Granulated sugar, kosher salt: Salt for deepening the flavor a bit, and balancing. Granulated sugar gets turned into simple syrup for our Strawberry Limeade.
• Filtered water, ice cubes: Make sure you’re using quality water. Tap is fine, if you insist, but the better the water the better the Strawberry Limeade.

How to Make Strawberry Limeade

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Strawberry Limeade recipe:

• Make the Strawberry Simple Syrup. Add the strawberries, sugar, salt, and 4 1/2 cups of water to a stockpot. Place the pan over medium heat and cover with a lid. Allow the strawberries to steep, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, and the liquid starts to become frothy, about 10 minutes. When this happens, increase the heat to high and bring everything to a boil. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved, then remove the pan from heat. Set it aside to cool to room temperature. 
• Start mixing the Strawberry Limeade. Once the strawberry simple syrup has cooled, place a mesh sieve over a large bowl or measuring cup and pour the strawberries into it, straining out the liquid. Use a spoon to press the strawberries into the mesh to express any liquid trapped in them. You should have around 4 cups of strawberry simple syrup now, possibly more depending on how juicy the berries were. Reserve the mashed strawberry left behind. 
• Finish the Strawberry Limeade. Add all the remaining water along with the ice cubes, limeade concentrate, and lime juice to a 1 gallon pitcher. Give it a good stir, then pour in the strawberry simple syrup. Taste it. If it’s too sweet for your tastes, add more water, a 1/2 cup at a time. Alternatively, if you have an extreme sweet tooth you can add granulated sugar, about 1/4 C at a time, making sure to stir vigorously and taste it after each addition. Once you’re happy with the flavor, stir in the lime zest and place in the fridge to chill. Enjoy cold. Dassit!

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