Amazing Lemonaid Recipe

I make this a gallon at a time, usually the night before I want it, because it's better cold and rested. The citric acid is the trick, it's what gives bottled and fast-food lemonade that bright, consistent tartness, and a single teaspoon does more work than another whole cup of juice would.

Here's the base I keep coming back to.

The base recipe

• 4 cups lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon citric acid
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (just a pinch)
• Water to bring the total up to one gallon

Stir until the sugar's dissolved, top off to a gallon with water, and chill it overnight if you can. It's drinkable right away, but it rounds out after a night in the fridge.

The pinch of salt is weird, but really helps. It doesn't make it salty, it just keeps the whole thing from tasting flat.

Tweaks

Tarter, more like Chick-fil-A? Bump the lemon juice up to 5 cups.

Want it stronger? Take the citric acid up to 1½–2 teaspoons. A little goes a long way, so move up in small steps.

Cutting the sugar? Drop down to 1 cup of sugar and keep everything else the same - 4 cups of juice, 1 teaspoon of citric acid, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and water to a gallon.

More lemon without more sugar? This is the one I reach for on the low-sugar batches. Toss in the zest of 1–2 lemons when you mix it, let it sit 30 minutes, then strain the zest out if you'd rather not have the bits. It makes the lower-sugar version taste a lot richer than it has any right to.