APPLE LEMONADE PUNCH

Thirsty to try a non- alcoholic punch recipe? Then you are at the right place of your search end.

‘Punch’ is generally a drink with five base ingredients. And a great thing about it is to know these base ingredients and to twist it to make your version of punch.

Apple lemonade punch recipe is a very classic punch recipe that was highly inspired by a fruit juice with toppings. These juices were prevalent in my hometown and are served to guests coming to wedding halls.

Why the name ‘punch’ for a summer drink

Whilst researching for the base ingredients in making punch, I came across an interesting fact behind the name of this famous summer drink ‘Punch’.

‘Punch’ is a name derived from an Indian word ‘paanch’. It refers to five in ‘Hindi’.

Though there is no proven history for this fact for me to show it here, I thought you would love this simple snippet to be relatable and makes you remember the base of this five-ingredient recipe

What makes it non-alcoholic

The earlier version of punch recipes were built on an alcoholic base. We don’t drink alcoholic based drinks and I thought of bringing out the non-alcoholic version of the same for this beautiful drink.

As this summer recipe is non-alcoholic, it’s suitable for kids, teenagers and all age group people who are not fond of alcoholic based drinks.

You can also adjust the recipe for serving your guests by multiplying as they are perfect for birthday parties, bridal and baby showers, and wedding ceremonies or simple summer outdoor parties.

The Major ingredients

Punch recipes are usually of ‘sweet’, ‘fizzy’ and slightly ‘spiced’. These different tastes come from the following ingredients

• Fruit juices/ Slices/ sugar: you can also use honey as a natural sweetener or a block of sugar or just the sweetness of any fruit you add in the recipe to make it sweeter.
• Citrus: Mostly they are lemon under this category but, you can also use orange.
• water: it can be a normal water/ ice/ crushed ice
• Carbonated drink: Any carbonated drink or club soda/ vodka if you are using alcohol. when adding carbonated drink be mindful about the sugar you add, test the drink before adding sugar and always make an additional little by little.
• tea/ spices: I used ginger for this recipe. it may be any spices, you can also use mint.

Based on these essential ingredients, you can make a summer punch of your interest by mixing and matching the elements under each of these categories.

whenever trying out a new combination of ingredients, test it out with the smallest amount of ingredients and then multiply it for a larger crowd. This is just to check how your new combination of punch works.

So be creative! And don’t forget to tag me at Instagram or mail me your creations if you make one! I love to see the different versions that you make.

Tips for making and serving

Punch drinks are usually served in a big and wide bowl. It makes easy them to serve for parties.

yet, there is no rule like a punch should be served in punch bowls.

You can also use a tall and wide jug. Another beauty of serving is, you can randomly choose any big bowls or containers in your house, decorate it (if you are using it for a party) and use them for serving these punch.

Outdoor party servings

Summer outdoor parties are bliss with friends and family. It doesn’t need to be a fancy place. Even, the backyard and house parties with friends and family make it much memorable.

Simple menu including drinks like Apple lemonade punch adds a bonus too!

But, here’s what you need to look for before an outdoor party and to make your parties exceptional.

• Ice: The biggest concern in having drinks as a part of menu in outdoor parties is Ice. you can use ice packs or icebox for storing the ice and use it only while serving.
• By ensuring you add ice while serving the punches you can also save the punches from being too watery, thus preserving the taste.
• As you are using non-alcoholic version, the fizziness in the drink may disappear, this is another problem of having a exposed punch for a longer time. To avoid this, you can pour some carbonated drinks or soda only during the time of serving.
• Sugar : you can also substitute with sugar syrup or honey
• Apples: Nobody, wanted to have an unappealing drink that too especially when it comes to parties. we all know apples, when exposed for a longer time can become dark because of oxidisation that takes place on their surface.
  • How to avoid: Inorder to avoid, you can store the chopped apples for garnishing in lemon juice. or drizzle lemon juice over the chopped apples desired for garnishing and mix it well.
• Basil/ sabja seeds I added the basil seeds to enhance the texture and you make the drink more appealing rather than being bland. you can also avoid adding them or substitute with soaked chia seeds.

Pros: The most significant advantage and beauty of this drink are, it is effortless and quick to make with fewer ingredients.

How to make Apple Lemonade punch

• Extract lemon juice from 1 1/2 lemon.Wash, peel and press the ginger in a mortar and pestle.
• Soak basil seeds in 1/2 cup of water. It approximately takes around 15 minutes to completely soak.
• finely chop apples and coat them with a dash of lemon juice for it to retain its original colour.

Take a large bowl with water, now add soaked basil seeds, lemon juice, ginger, sugar and give it a whisk

Now, add the carbonated drink of your preference and garnish with apple before serving.

You can also serve the lemonade punch with ice. you can also use crushed ice for this purpose. However, they are completely optional.