Its wild huckleberry season here in Washington state and all-around northern America! There is nothing better than fresh Huckleberrys in the summer heat, and here in Washington they are a staple. Most people from this side know when the berries are ripe and have all the special secret places to forage for them. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on some, I’m sure you are looking for all the yummy recipes.
Living in the PNW my whole life I have tried so many variations of huckleberry lemonade, well to be honest huckleberry everything. And this one definitely takes the cake by far. With the sweetness of the sugar and slightly tart ripe berries pared with the sourness of the lemonade this recipe is sure to make anybody satisfied.
Here at The Daily Papaya, we love us some refreshing lemonade in the hot summer months.
Luckily to make this huckleberry lemonade it is allot easier than foraging for the berries themselves. And you don’t have to use fresh huckleberries, frozen ones work just the same!
Huckleberry lemonade recipe
For the lemonade:
- 8 lemons (one sliced thin)
- 3 cups hot water
- 1-quart cold water
- 1 cup of white cane sugar
For the Huckleberry puree
- 2 cups Huckleberries (frozen or fresh)
- 1 cup cane sugar (any sugar will work fine)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
instructions
- You’ll first want to put half of your thinly sliced lemon in your desired pitcher, then adding the sugar on top of the lemons. Save the rest of your thinly sliced lemon for garnish.
- Squeeze your 7 remaining lemons and remove seeds from the juice.
- Add juice to your pitcher then add your hot water, no need to sir yet allow the water to cool to room temp.
- Add your cold water and remaining lemons, place in the fridge or somewhere cool while you make your huckleberry puree
- To make puree add huckleberries, white cane sugar, and water to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.
- Add lemon juice to the huckleberries and cook for an additional minuet, until slightly thickened.
- once cooled blend. You can add the puree directly to your pitcher of lemonade or add to each glass of lemonade for desired concertation. Serve over cracked ice.
Pro tips
If you don’t like the seeds in the huckleberry puree you can squeeze through a terry cloth or strain until smooth.
Feel free to add or take away whatever you desire. Add more sugar if you like it really sweet, or less if you prefer tarte. Sometimes I like to make both the lemonade and puree with raw local honey from my area to make the drink even more “local”.
You can make the huckleberry puree ahead of time and freeze in freezer safe storage containers for up to 5 months, even double or triple the recipe so you can have puree for months to come!
Feel free to use the huckleberry puree for more than just lemonade! It’s amazing on pancakes, in iced tea, margaritas and just about anything!
You can freeze the lemonade too in freezer safe containers and it should keep for up to 5 months as well!