This fresh Mulberry Lemonade is the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and fruity and such a fun way to use mulberries. I love to make a few batches during mulberry season when the mulberries are falling off the trees (literally!). You can also use frozen mulberries to make this vibrant drink any time of year.
Recipe Background and Details
We have a few beautiful old mulberry trees here on our property and I love finding ways to use the berries. I wrote more in depth about one of our very special mulberry trees in my Mulberry Pie post. We picked so many mulberries this year - truly I think it was a record-breaking year. I've already made and canned a big batch of my fruit-juice sweetened Mulberry Jam as well as made a few batches of these soft Mulberry Crumble Muffins. This mulberry lemonade is such a treat and is a nice way to enjoy a mulberry drink if you aren't in the mood for a Mulberry Mojito.
Jump to:
Ingredients for Mulberry Lemonade
- mulberries
- sugar
- lemons
- water
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Place mulberries, sugar, and the juice of two lemons in a large bowl and stir well to combine. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for a couple of hours or in the refrigerator overnight. The sugar and lemon juice will soften the berries and pull out their juices.
Once the berries have released a lot of juice give them a good mash with a potato masher or a fork.
Strain the mulberry mixture through a mesh strainer and add remaining lemon juice. Stir well and divide between two half gallon jars (or add it all to a gallon jug if you have one). Top each jar with water. Taste for tartness/sweetness and adjust as needed.
Store in the refrigerator and serve over ice with fresh lemon slices and mulberries.
Substitutions and Variations
- Of course this is written for mulberries but you can use any berry such as raspberries. In fact, this recipe is based off of my Fresh Raspberry Lemonade which is always a big hit in the summer months.
- Use limes instead of lemon or use a combination for a fun twist.
- Add herbs like mint or lavender or for an extra special touch add some vanilla bean paste!
- Instead of sugar feel free to use your preferred natural sweetener.
FAQ
Mulberries contain iron, vitamin C, and other compounds. Eating them can possibly help reduce cholesterol, blood sugar, and cancer risk. Mulberries have been used in Chinese herbal medicine to treat different ailments, but evidence of these benefits is limited. Mulberries can also help speed up slow digestion.
Mulberries are a very sweet berry when fully ripe and taste similar to blueberries.
Related - cocktails and drink recipes
Pairing - summer dishes
Mulberry Lemonade (or limeade)
This fresh Mulberry Lemonade (or limeade!) is the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and fruity and such a fun way to use mulberries. I love to make a few batches during mulberry season when the mulberries are falling off the trees (literally!). You can also use frozen mulberries to make this any time of year.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 gallon
Ingredients
2 ½ cups (about 590 ml) fresh lemon juice squeezed from about 14 lemons (reserve two of the lemons for the mulberry syrup mixture)
16 ounces mulberries (about 4 cups)
1.5 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
Enough cold water to make 1 gallon (you should need about 14 cups)
Instructions
Place mulberries, sugar, and the juice of two lemons in a large bowl and stir well to combine. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for a couple of hours or in the refrigerator overnight. The sugar and lemon juice will soften the berries and pull out their juices.
Once the berries have released a lot of juice give them a good mash with a potato masher or a fork.
Strain the mulberry mixture through a mesh strainer - really squash their guts out to get all the juice - and add remaining lemon juice. This is your mulberry lemonade concentrate! Stir well and divide between two half gallon jars (or add it all to a gallon jug if you have one). Top each jar with water. Taste for tartness/sweetness and adjust as needed.
Store in the refrigerator and serve over ice with fresh lemon slices and mulberries.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: n/a
- Category: cocktails, drinks, summer
- Method: drinks
- Cuisine: American
Leave a Reply