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The Best Strawberry Basil Lemonade

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One of my favorite go-to drinks for guests (or just for me!) is fruit and herb-infused goodness. I love creating my own flavors, like this delicious and simple basil-strawberry lemonade 🍓🌿✨ using the Breville InFizz Fusion, which can carbonate any beverage. (Please check with manufacturer instructions when using other products.)

It’s fascinating how something as simple as making a beverage like this drink involves plenty of science.

Always buy fresh produce in season to maximize and get the best flavors. When making drinks like this, I dice the fruit up, toss it with sugar, and let it sit for a bit. The sugar will dissolve and, via osmosis, draw out the flavors from the strawberries. If using herbs like I am with this bright and gorgeous basil, steep it in hot simple syrup to extract all those aromatics like you would a tea. Once you mix everything with the lemon juice and water, let it chill in the refrigerator and then strain and pour it out into bottles before carbonating.

 

This post was made possible by Breville; all opinions expressed are solely my own. 

  • Yield: 8.5 cups/2 L

Ingredients

1 lb/455 g fresh ripe strawberries, hulled and diced

1 cup/200 g sugar

1 packed cup fresh basil

1 cup/240 ml fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Toss the strawberries and 1/4 cup/50 g sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Cover with a lid and let sit for 30 minutes.
  2. While the strawberries sit and macerate, prepare the simple syrup. Bring the remaining sugar and 2 cups/480 ml of water to a boil. Crush the basil and stir into the simple syrup. Cover and let sit to cool to room temperature.
  3. Add 5 cups/1.2 L of cold water, the strawberry mixture, and lemon juice in a large container or jug. Strain the basil simple syrup using a fine mesh strainer directly into the large container. Stir, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. This drink will stay good for up to 4 days, sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  4. Remove the strawberries and transfer them to an ice cube tray to freeze. When serving the drink, use these instead of ice cubes.
  5. If carbonating the drink, follow the instructions listed in the manual for the Breville InFizz Fusion, which can carbonate any beverage. (Please check with manufacturer instructions when using other products.)

Notes

I’ve also got some extra tips for you to use with the Breville InFizz Fusion to make your bubbling experience the best!

  • Keep the In Fizz Fusion away from heat sources and sunlight

  • Never use hot liquids; the high temperatures won’t hold the gas; instead, use room temperature or chilled liquids.

  • Never use milk and dairy products; carbonation will make the proteins curdle because the pH drops.

  • Never put ice in the bottle.

  • Finally, the filter is used to strain out solids like the fruit before carbonating.

Find it online: https://niksharmacooks.com/strawberry-basil-lemonade/

Order your copy of the best-selling James Beard nominated cookbook, The Flavor Equation.