Homemade Lemonade

Cut thin slices of lemon peel from the whole of each lemon using a vegetable peeler or small sharp knife. You only need the yellow part, not any white pith as this will make the lemonade bitter.

Place the lemon peel in a small non-reactive saucepan. This is a saucepan that's made from a material that won't react with the acidic lemon juice. A non-stick saucepan would be ideal, and avoid pans that are made from aluminium, unlined copper or tin.

Pour in 200ml cold water to cover the lemon peel and place on a low heat. Gently simmer for 10 minutes to infuse the water with the flavour and colour of the lemon peel.

Remove from the heat and strain into a heatproof jug, discarding the lemon peel. Stir in the sweetener and stir until dissolved. Leave the lemon syrup to cool.

Squeeze the juice from the lemons and strain into the jug using a nylon sieve (metal sieves may react with the lemon juice).

Make up to 1 litre with cold water and stir. Chill if wished, and serve in glasses with ice, lemon slices and mint sprigs (optional).