Honey Ginger Lemonade with a Masi Masa Twist

February 10, 2021 0 Comments

We’ve been reading and cooking our way through Marcus Samuelsson’s new cookbook, The Rise: Black Cooks & The Soul of American Food, inspiring us to come up with a new drink recipe.

Back when we lived in Los Angeles, we—well, OK, Cindy—consumed A LOT of fried chicken at local faves like Roscoe’s, Dinah’s and Aunt Kizzy’s Back Porch. The beverage of choice was always lemonade. (And dessert was always yellow cake with chocolate frosting!)

We’ve Masi Masa-fied the classic to include honey, ginger, turmeric and a little cayenne pepper. If you want to spike it, may we suggest bourbon to keep real?

Makes about 4 pint glasses of lemonade.

Shopping List & Prep

• 1 C honey
• 1.5 C freshly squeezed lemon juice (8-10 lemons)
• 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick pieces
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• Bourbon (optional)

Directions

Honey Ginger Syrup

You can prepare syrup in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

1. In a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water, honey and ginger slices to a boil
2. Turn off heat and stir in turmeric and cayenne pepper
3. Steep for 15 minutes 
4. Strain and chill for 2 hours or until cold (we like to leave few ginger pieces in for a super gingery flavor)

Lemonade

1. In a large pitcher, stir together lemon juice, 4 cups of water, and the honey ginger syrup. 
2. Fill glasses with ice and add 1 oz bourbon (optional)
3. Pour lemonade into ice-filled glasses and drink up!

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