Sunday Lemonade

Serve when

Pour it from a sweating pitcher as the family sits down — dinner starts when the glasses are full.

Before you start

Make the syrup and mix the pitcher well ahead of time so it's properly cold and the ice hasn't watered it down by the time the table fills up.

Cook-along start: ~0:12

What to drink

Big Mama's table is a Sunday-after-church table, and its pitcher drink is lemonade — fresh-squeezed, plenty sweet, cold enough to fog the glass. It's the pairing that belongs to fried chicken the way hymns belong to Sunday morning.

What to drink

Sweet-tart and ice cold against hot, crisp, rich food — lemonade earns its permanent seat at the soul food table.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh lemon juice (6–8 lemons)
¾ cup sugar, dissolved in 1 cup hot water
4 cups cold water
Lemon wheels and lots of ice

Method

Make a syrup of the sugar and hot water; cool.
Stir together with the lemon juice and cold water in a big pitcher.
Chill, then pour over ice with lemon wheels.
Keep the pitcher on the table; Sunday dinner is long.