How to make the very best pink sparkling lemonade ... that won't rot your teeth

Summer just wouldn't be summer without lemonade ... and the Piña Colada song (!). OK! OK! So not everyone likes the Piña Colada song ... but I don't know anyone who doesn't like a good glass of lemonade.

There are some things that are just made for each other and summer and lemonade are two of them. But these days that gives me a teeny weeny dilemma. What with all this talk about how fizzy drinks are rotting our children's teeth and everything I've been feeling a bit reticent about allowing Emi one of the pleasures of my own childhood.

But I've come up with a crafty plan, which I think solves my lemonade dilemma with something out of my home chemistry set called xylitol, which is a natural sugar substitute made from ... birch tree bark (according to the back of the packet ). It says that it's got 40% fewer calories and 75% less carbohydrate than sugar and, most importantly of all, it helps to protect teeth from dental cavities and to remineralise tooth enamel (yeah!). You use it pretty much weight for weight as you'd use sugar. Just one word of caution: like chocolate it is toxic to dogs, so don't go sharing this wonderful lemonade with your favourite pooch (as if).

Now if there's one thing that's better than home-made sparkling lemonade it's got to be pink home-made sparkling lemonade. And I'm borrowing all that lovely pinkness from a pomegranate, courtesy of a splash to elderflower and pomegranate cordial.

So here's what you'll need to make about 3 pints or a litre and three quarters of my wonderful brew.

Ingredients:

6 unwaxed lemons
5 oz. or 150 g xylitol (or granulated sugar if you're old school)
Couple of tablespoonfuls of elderflower and pomegranate cordial (a heresy in some quarters, but, trust me, it adds that certain little twist of extra interest of flavour and pinkness that turns good into delicious)
1 litre or 2 pints of sparkling mineral water

Method:

1. First you need to wash your lemons in warm water, dry them well and then thinly grate the outer zest. I have this wonderful little gizmo called a microplane that's not exactly high-tech expensive, but it's the best little lemon-zester in town. Avoid the white pith just under the wonderful lemon zest as it tends to make things bitter.

2. Next you need to juice all 6 lemons and place the juice with the grated zest together in a bowl.

3. Add the xylitol (or sugar) and 1/2 of a litre of boiling water to the lemons, stir well and leave to cool. When it's cooled store it in the fridge overnight - or until you want to use it. I let it cool and then pour it into some recycled glass bottles that I can screw the lids on and store in the fridge until I want to use it.

4. Chill the super-sparkly mineral water in the fridge.

5. When you are ready to serve sieve the lemon liquid through a coarse sieve, add the elderflower cordial and the sparkling mineral water so that it tastes just right (my suggested amounts of both water and cordial should be tinkered with so that the lemonade is perfect for your palate), give it a quick stir and serve immediately.

Delish ...

... enjoy with sunshine, friends and the Piña Colada song,

(which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5_EIikdFr8)

Bonny x

As shared on Creative Mondays and a Pinch of Joy