Lime juice

Name: Lime juice
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Sierra Leone
Ingredients: 120 ml freshly squeezed filtered lime juice, about 4–6 fruits depending on yield; 40 g white sugar; Drinking water to make 1.2 litres final drink, including 150 ml for syrup

🍋 A lightly sweetened diluted fresh-lime drink, six 200 ml glasses, without fermentation.

Ingredients

120 ml freshly squeezed filtered lime juice, about 4–6 fruits depending on yield
40 g white sugar
Drinking water to make 1.2 litres final drink, including 150 ml for syrup

Preparation

Wash limes and prepare a clean press. Squeeze, strain out seeds and measure 120 ml juice; do not automatically add all fruit.

Gently heat 150 ml water with 40 g sugar about five minutes just to dissolve, without caramelizing.

Transfer syrup into a clean heatproof vessel and cool promptly in a cold-water bath. Then add lime juice.

Top up with cold drinking water to a measured final volume of 1.2 litres. Mix and taste without automatically adding sugar.

Cover and refrigerate about one hour, counting syrup cooling within waiting time. Extend if not cold enough.

Stir and serve six 200 ml glasses without ice to keep stated dilution. Extra water or melted ice changes volume and strength.