A Non-Recipe: Cherry Lemonade with Mint- For Fellow Canners Especially

What's a body to do with cherry juice syrup leftover from canning?! Make this, of course!

When canning sour cherries, I made a medium syrup to pack the cherries in and used sugar, water, and the leftover sour juice that was left in the bottom of the bowl. I had a quart jar of syrup left over, and because I hate to waste things, I popped it in the fridge. I made this a week later, when it soothed our souls on a 100-degree day. I think it would be awesome with lime juice, too, but lemon is what I had on hand.

4 cups cherry syrup (rough estimate: about 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, about 2 cups sour cherry juice, and about 1 cup water)
8+ cups water, to taste
1-2 cups ice
1-2 cups lemon juice, or more, to taste
fresh wild field mint leaves, lots, to taste (you, of course, may purchase mint, but look outside first!)
*add a tad more sugar, water, or lemon to your liking

It's even better the next day, after the mint flavor has diffused through the rest.





Aaaaaaah.