Have you ever heard of saffron lemonade? This idea blew my mind in the best way. This drink came about while I was watching the Cooking Channel and running on the treadmill at the gym. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. No shame in my game.

Mo Rocca was on and cooking with two adorable, little Indian women. I absolutely love the flavors of Indian cooking, so I was enthralled. Before the ladies began cooking, they served Mo saffron lemonade. My head nearly exploded. I quickly typed it onto the notes on my phone and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

I googled their recipe, (which has now been removed from their site! Boo!), but I modified their original recipe a bit since I try to watch my sugar intake. If you don’t need to watch your sugar intake, feel free to up the sugar to 1/2 a cup.

Saffron Lemonade Recipe

Makes 16 oz.

Ingredients for Saffron Lemonade

• 5-6 lemons
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 pinches of saffron
• 1 cup of cold water
• A handful of ice

Squeeze the lemons, add the sugar, water and saffron, then add a handful of ice and shake. The longer you let the saffron steep in the lemonade, the stronger the flavor will be. I let mine steep about an hour and it turned a gorgeous orange color.

If you need to make this in advance, this could be refrigerated in the fridge overnight. I haven’t tried it but, I’d love to see how that flavor would develop overnight.

The flavor kind of reminded me of kombucha, but less tart. Saffron lemonade is the perfect spring drink! This would also be the perfect base for a cocktail or mocktail too.

For another spring drink, I recommend a Peach Mint Julep!

love,
melanie