Description
Our cherry limeade is made with fresh sweet cherries and freshly squeezed lime juice for a perfectly balanced sweet-tart flavor. When the weather starts to heat up, this is the drink that I start to crave!
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- Zest and juice of 4 limes
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- Sparkling water for topping
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add the sugar and lime zest. Using your fingers, massage the sugar and zest together until fragrant and evenly incorporated.
- To a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the cherries, sugar and zest mixture, and water. Cook over medium low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the cherries have softened and begin to break down. You'll want to mash them a bit throughout the cooking process using a wooden spoon or similar utensil.
- Strain the cooked syrup to remove the solids, using a spatula or spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Move the to refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, squeeze in the fresh juice from your zested limes.
- To make your soda, add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup (depending on how sweet you like your soda) of the syrup to an ice-filled glass, and top with sparkling water. Enjoy!
Notes
Save the leftover cherries from the syrup! They taste fantastic. Try them over ice cream (or even mixed into homemade ice cream) or atop oatmeal or yogurt.
Storage: Once the syrup is fully cooled, keep it stored in an airtight jar like a mason jar. We like to use this pump top bottle for easy dispensing. It should keep for about 1 month in the refrigerator. If you use a sugar substitute, it will not last this long.
Ratio of syrup to sparkling water: You can vary this up according to how intense you want your flavor to be, but a ratio of about ¼ cup of syrup to 1 cup of sparkling water should work well. For less sweet soda, try just 2 tablespoons.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 25.2 g
- Sodium: 4.3 mg
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.5 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 0.9 g