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blueberry lemonade

Easy Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade

Cool down with this sparkling blueberry lemonade—a refreshing, easy-to-make drink that’s bursting with fresh, juicy blueberries and bright lemon flavor.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings: 1 servings
Course: Beverage
Cuisine: American
Calories: 92
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2/3 cup sugar (superfine is best)
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
  • 4 to 5 large lemons
  • 2 cups ice cubes
  • 3 cups sparkling water (or club soda my favorite is sparkling lemon lime water)

Equipment

  • Medium saucepan
  • Fine-mesh sieve 
  • Large pitcher or 32-ounce mason jar

Method
 

  1. Build the syrup base
    Combine the superfine sugar, water, fresh blueberries, and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in a medium saucepan. The zest added at this stage infuses the syrup with citrus oil during the simmer and produces a more complex flavor than lemon juice alone achieves.
  2. Simmer until the berries burst
    Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Press any stubborn berries against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon to release their juice. The syrup turns deep purple and coats the spoon lightly when ready.
  3. Strain and cool completely
    Pour the hot syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a heat-safe bowl or jar. Press the solids gently to extract every drop of liquid. Discard the skins. Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until fully cold before building the drink. Hot syrup poured directly over ice melts the entire cup instantly and dilutes the batch.
  4. Juice the lemons
    Squeeze the lemons until you reach exactly 1 cup of fresh juice. A small splash of water makes up any shortfall if the lemons run dry.
  5. Mix the base
    In a large pitcher, stir the cooled blueberry syrup and fresh lemon juice together over the ice cubes. Taste the base at this point and adjust with a tablespoon of extra syrup if the lemons ran very tart.
  6. Add the sparkling water last
    Pour in all 3 cups of sparkling water immediately before serving and stir once gently. Over-stirring knocks the carbonation out of the water. Serve over additional ice in tall glasses.

Recipe Notes

Use Blueberries That Are Past Their Snacking Prime.
Slightly soft, overripe blueberries burst during the simmer in under five minutes and release more juice per berry than firm fresh ones. They cost less at the market too, since vendors often discount them. Save your perfect firm blueberries for a fruit salad and use the soft ones for this syrup. ✅
🍋 Zest First, Juice Second.
The zest strips off a firm whole lemon cleanly and easily. It tears off a squeezed lemon half in bitter, pith-heavy chunks. Zesting after juicing produces a worse product and scraped knuckles. Do them in the correct order every single time.