The Surprising Kitchen Tool That Can Help You Make Tastier Lemonade

Imagine this: it's a hot summer day, you're out in the backyard taking in some rays, and you get handed a cool glass of lemonade. Sounds like perfection! Whether you started your entrepreneurial career with a lemonade stand as a child or simply love the refreshing feeling the drink provides, lemonade continues to be a favorite, per Industry ARC – both homemade or store-bought.

Lemon, sugar, and water: that's all it takes for perfect lemonade, right? (It doesn't hurt to add a little mint, too, to increase lemonade's cooling effect.) Well, if you thought lemonade couldn't get any better, you were wrong. A large glass of ice-cold lemonade is a refreshing treat for any day, but believe it or not there is a way to make it even more delightful. If it ever seems that your homemade lemonade is just not as good as you remember, we may have found the answer.

A common practice used by bartenders, The Spruce Eats explains muddling involves using a small tool to gently extract the flavors, essence, and aromas out of ingredients. Now, why not apply the method to lemonade?

When making lemonade, most people simply use the juice of the lemon, but the fruit's peel contains an even stronger lemon flavor and aroma than the juice. The taste of the peel is both sweet and slightly bitter, reports Spiceography, which will add a more complex flavor to your drink than plain old lemon juice.

But say you don't have a muddler in your kitchen, what you may have is a potato masher. Using a potato masher to muddle slices of lemon together — peel on — helps to bring out the flavorful oils found in the rind and adds a bold kick to your lemonade, per America's Test Kitchen. We love creativity and kitchen hacks, and it adds an extra layer of usefulness when those tips include alternate uses for your everyday kitchen tools (especially those many consider unitaskers). So, next time you're looking to whip up some lemonade, consider this flavorful little hack. You can even try it out on your favorite cocktails when a little (or a lot, in the case of something like rum punch for a crowd) muddle is needed!