Easy Pink Lemonade Recipe Using Wild Raspberries
There’s nothing better than foraging for your food and using it to make a fresh and refreshing summer drink! If you’ve been out foraging lately, you may have picked some wild raspberries! This easy pink lemonade recipe using wild raspberries is a must-try!
Foraging for Wild Raspberries
First things first, if you want to make this easy pink lemonade recipe using wild raspberries, you probably need to find some first! If you are in the PNW, they are likely everywhere! We live at 4100 feet in elevation, in a forest of conifers, and they are everywhere. They are even more prominent in areas that were burned by fire, and land disturbed by logging. After a wildfire we had in 2021, they have been exploding! If you are in to foraging, I highly recommend checking out this book for identifying plants in the PNW.
How to Identify Wild Raspberries
Identifying wild raspberries is EASY PEASY. If you know what regular raspberries look like, then you can easily spot wild raspberries. The bushes and leaves look exactly the same, and so do the flowers and berries! The plants can get just as big as regular raspberries do, sometimes the leaves will be a little smaller, but they are the same shape. The berries themselves are usually a lot smaller, but they look just like regular raspberries. They are tasty too, although they can be a little tart and seedy.
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Making Pink Lemonade Using Wild Raspberries
Now that you have an idea on how to find these wild raspberries, let’s get into what you’ll need to make the lemonade! It’s a very simple and easy recipe that you can throw together in under ten minutes. This refreshing pink lemonade recipe using wild raspberries is the perfect drink for a hot summer day. My kids LOVED it so much!
What You’ll Need to Make Pink Lemonade Using Wild Raspberries:
Tools you’ll need:
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Wild Raspberries
- Lemons
- Water
- Raw Honey – (I used raw honey from my own honeybees, but if you don’t have bees you can buy any raw or local honey)
In the video below I take you along on our foraging adventure and show how to make this wild raspberry lemonade, and huckleberry bars!
Instructions for Making Pink Lemonade Using Wild Raspberries:
Step 1:
Carefully inspect the raspberries for bugs, leaves, and other things that could have stuck to them while picking. Wild raspberries don’t hold up very well to washing in water, so it’s best to just pick through them the best you can.
Step 2:
After cleaning the raspberries, measure out two cups of raspberries and put them in your half gallon jar.
Step 3:
Now it’s time to juice your lemons! Rolling them on a flat surface first helps more juice come out when you go to squeeze them. You will need the juice from 7-8 lemons, depending on how juicy your lemons are. You want to have about two cups of lemon juice.
Step 4:
Once you have finished juicing the lemons, put the lid tightly on the mason jar and shake the juice and berry mixture very well. The mixture will turn a nice dark red color. Once you’ve finished shaking, it’s time to add four cups of cold water.
Step 5:
Once the water and juice mixture has been combined, it’s time to add 1/2 cup of raw honey (you can substitute for sugar if you’d like, but honey is a healthier option.) and shake well to combine. The honey will take a little longer to dissolve.
Step 6:
The lemonade is ready to enjoy! Pour it over a glass of ice with a wedge of lemon as a garnish, and serve to your kids, friends, or just yourself! If you want to strain it, I’d suggest leaving it in the fridge for up to 12 hours to let the flavors infuse more before straining. Otherwise it’s ready to enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this fresh pink lemonade recipe using wild raspberries! It’s one of the many things you can make using wild raspberries! Picking wild raspberries is a fun family activity, or a great excuse to get out in the woods.
Pink Lemonade Using Wild Raspberries
Equipment
- 1 Half Gallon Mason Jar with lid
- 1 Canning Funnel
- 1 Lemon Juicer
- 1 Strainer optional
- 1 Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups wild raspberries
- 7-8 whole lemons (2 cups lemon juice)
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup honey (or substitute sugar)
Instructions
- Carefully pick through the raspberries and make sure they are clean and free of bugs, leaves, or other debris.
- Measure out two cups of wild raspberries and put them in the mason jar.
- Juice the lemons until you have two cups or so of lemon juice. (The juice should be enough to cover the raspberries in the jar.) Pour the juice into the jar.
- Screw the lid to the jar on tight and shake vigorously for about two minutes. The juice mixture should be dark red and the raspberries should no longer be intact.
- Add four cups of cold water to the juice mixture in the jar.
- Add 1/2 cup of honey (or sugar) and shake well in the jar until the honey is dissolved.
- Now enjoy your lemonade! If you'd like to strain it, let it sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours before doing so to make sure the juice absorbs all of the raspberry flavor.
Notes
- If you want to use lemon juice instead of juicing fresh lemons, you can substitute for 2 cups of lemon juice. Fresh is best though.
- Make sure your raspberries are clean, you wouldn’t want to drink any bugs on accident!
- You can strain the lemonade if you don’t like the chunks and seeds, but it’s not neccessary.
FAQ About Foraging for Wild Raspberries and Making Lemonade
Are there any wild raspberry look-alikes?
There are thimbleberries which look somewhat similar to raspberries, but the plant has way bigger leaves and doesn’t grow like raspberries do in a vine. The berries are the only part that looks similar to wild raspberries.
How long does the lemonade last in the fridge?
You can keep the lemonade fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days. After that I’d toss it out, but it’s so tasty I doubt it will last that long!
Are wild raspberries safe to eat?
Yes, wild raspberries are safe to eat. If you are unsure about what a wild berry is, you should not eat it. If you are inexperienced in foraging, you should bring a foraging book with you out in the woods.
Are there rules about picking wild raspberries?
Where I live there are no rules, but it’s always best to check with your local forest service to see if there are any rules.
