If I have to choose ingredients that are the epitome of freshness, my top picks will be watermelon, fresh mint leaves, lemon/lime, and cucumber. That’s why during summers you will rarely find them missing in my fridge. And, today’s recipe - Watermelon lemonade has three out of these four ingredients in it. Naturally, it’s one of my favorite summer drinks. If you also love Watermelon then don’t miss to check my Greek Watermelon Salad recipe. The days have just got started getting hotter in Dubai and I have already made this lemonade 3-4 times. I love it so much that even while writing this post, I am craving it. Made with just six basic ingredients (including water and ice), this summer drink gets ready in under 15 minutes. What more can you ask for?
How to pick the perfect watermelon
A lot of people struggle with choosing the right Watermelon which is sweet and juicy. I am sharing a few tips which I follow to pick the perfect watermelon every time.
Look for the one with a creamy patch on it. The darker the patch the better i.e. a yellow-patched watermelon will be better than the one with a white or creamy patch. That patch is the side on which the watermelon was touching the ground on the farm. It grows with the time that watermelon remains on the farm. If the patch is not there or is too small it means the watermelon was plucked before it could ripe completely. Knock on the watermelon, if it sounds hollow-go for it. Lift it up, if it feels heavy for its size, take that watermelon home. It’s heavy because of the juice inside it. Look for weblike brown spots on the watermelon. The melon with more patches will be sweeter. You will find watermelons in two shapes. The round ones and the elongated ones. The round watermelons are generally sweeter and the elongated ones are watery. Check the tail. A green tail means it was plucked too early so it won’t be ripe. The tail should have dried.
Recipe tips and tricks
Select your watermelon properly. It should be ripe and sweet. The tips above will help you with that. Adding sugar is optional. If the watermelon is already sweet enough, skip the sugar. You can also choose a healthier sweetener like honey, palm sugar, or maple syrup. If you want to keep some pulp in the lemonade, don’t strain it. Instead of using mint leaves just for garnishing, blend them with watermelon. The lemonade will be tastier. You can also use sparkling water instead of water in this recipe.
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