Xanthan Gum Free Garden Lemon Ginger Cooler
This bright, garden-fresh drink is everything you want on a warm day — zippy lemon, cooling cucumber, fragrant mint, and a gentle heat from real ginger that sneaks up on you in the best way. The homemade ginger simple syrup is the secret weapon here, made by simmering fresh ginger slices with maple syrup until the whole thing smells incredible, then steeping it a little longer to really coax out that spice. Every single ingredient in this cooler is naturally free of thickeners and stabilizers, so there's nothing to scrutinize on a label — just whole, recognizable produce and pantry staples doing all the work. Muddling the cucumber and mint releases their oils without turning the drink cloudy or bitter, giving you a clean, aromatic base that feels almost spa-like. A split of still and sparkling water keeps the finish light and effervescent without relying on any additives to achieve that texture. It's the kind of drink that looks stunning in a pitcher on a table and tastes even better than it looks.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the ginger simple syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
For the cooler
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4–5 lemons)
- ½ medium english cucumber, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, lightly packed
- 2 cups cold water
- 2 cups sparkling water, chilled
For serving
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 4 lemon slices (optional)
- 4 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the 1/2 cup water, maple syrup, and sliced ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the maple syrup dissolves. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes, until the syrup is fragrant and the ginger has softened slightly.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the ginger syrup steep for 15 minutes, until the ginger flavor is pronounced. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl or measuring cup, pressing the ginger slices to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids.
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