Strawberry Lemonade

Add the strawberries, sugar, salt, and two cups of water to a medium-sized saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and cover with a lid. Allow the strawberries to steep, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and the liquid starts to become frothy, about 10 minutes. When this happens, increase the heat to high and bring everything to a boil. Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved, then remove the pan from heat. Set it aside. 

Add all of the remaining water along with the ice cubes and lemon juice to your pitcher. Give it a good stir. 

Place a mesh sieve over a large bowl or measuring cup and pour the strawberries into it, straining out the liquid. Use a spoon to press the strawberries into the mesh to express any liquid trapped in them. You should have around 3 1/2 cups of strawberry simple syrup now, possibly more depending on how juicy the berries were. Reserve the strawberry puree left behind. 

Pour 3 cups of the strawberry simple syrup into the pitcher and stir. Taste it. Add the remainder of strawberry simple syrup if you’d like it even sweeter. If you have an extreme sweet tooth you can add granulated sugar at this point too, about 1/4 C at a time, making sure to stir vigorously and taste it after each addition. 

Once you’re happy with the flavor, pop on the lid and stick the pitcher in the fridge. Allow the strawberry lemonade to chill completely, about 4 hours or so, before serving. 

Add a bit of the strawberry puree you saved to the bottom of each glass before pouring in the lemonade. Garnish the top with a lemon wedge.