The season of blooming purple fields has come to an end, but you can still enjoy the North Fork’s aromatic lavender with this refreshing spin on a summer classic. Sweet and tart, this local lavender lemonade is perfect for serving at a summer barbecue, enjoying by the poolside or even elevating your next lemonade stand.
For this recipe, I made a stop at Lavender By the Bay — a family-owned lavender farm in East Marion. Though there are many types of lavender, dried English Lavender is often the best choice for culinary purposes, and can be purchased at Lavender By The Bay in 2 oz cans.
This recipe is inspired by Lavender By The Bay’s original lavender lemonade recipe, modified to be a bit more tangy and to have an extra hint of lavender.
Local Lavender Lemonade
Serves 6 people
Ingredients
- 4 cups of filtered water
- 3/4 cups of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of dried lavender buds
- 4 lemons
- (optional) lavender sprigs for garnish
Directions
- Combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Place dried lavender buds into a tea infuser and add to the mixture.
- Heat the mixture until it starts to boil, about 10 minutes. Remove heat and set mixture aside to cool, about 30 minutes.
- Juice the lemons. Strain or take out any seeds.
- Combine lemon juice and cooled lavender mixture into a pitcher and stir well.
- Serve in glasses filled with ice. For added extravagance: freeze lavender buds inside ice cubes and garnish with lavender sprigs and a lemon wheel.
