How To Make Lemon And Lime Cordial: Homemade Cordial Recipe (2024)

This lemon and lime cordial recipe is easy to make and tastes amazing! The tangy and sweet flavor combination creates a refreshing drink loved by children and adults. And nothing beats homemade, especially an old-fashioned lemon cordial!

I’m fortunate to grow both a lemon and lime tree and if you’re interested in growing them too, you can read more here: How To Grow A Lemon Tree and How To Grow Key Limes.

Because I grow both citruses, I’ve used a combination of both lemon and lime fruits for this cordial recipe. But if you want to make a lime cordial or lemon cordial without mixing the fruits, then this recipe will work just as well.

This recipe is preservative-free, so it does not use citric acid or tartaric. Cordial can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

How to Freeze Cordial

As this recipe makes a large batch of cordial, if you want to, you can freeze any surplus cordial you don’t need now. I do this by storing the cordial in a clean jar and standing it upright in the freezer. Then when I’m ready to use the cordial, I simply defrost it and then continue to mix it up with water as I normally would.

If I’m in a hurry, I can defrost the frozen cordial by sitting the jar in warm water in the sink. Be sure to use warm water and not super hot water or you could risk cracking the glass jar.

The frozen cordial should last 3-6 months in the freezer. The time depends on the seal of your jar. A poorly sealed jar will allow in some air which will result in icicles.

Juicing Lemons and Limes

For this recipe, you will of course need to juice the lemons and limes. I use a hand tool like this manual citrus press juicer. But you could make your life easier with an electric citrus juice like this one. In fact, the electric juicer looks so good (and my hands ache after all that manual juicing), I think I’ll put it on my birthday list!

You will also need a large saucepan for making the sugar syrup and then adding in the lemon-lime juice. The saucepan should be large enough to hold 10 cups so the cordial doesn’t spill. If you don’t already have one, this saucepan here would work well.

Makes 8 Cups (70 fl oz or 2 liters).

Ingredients for Lemon and Lime Cordial

4 Pounds (2kg) Lemon and Limes for 4 cups ( 35 fl oz or 1 liter) of Lemon Lime juice

4 Cups (880 g) granulated sugar

4 Cups (35 fl oz or 1 liter) of water

How to Make Lemon and Lime Cordial

1. In a large saucepan add the water and sugar over a medium-high heat. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2. Once boiling point has been reached, continue to gently boil for a further 3 minutes before taking off the heat. Allow the sugar syrup to cool.
3. In the meantime, juice the lemons and limes into a large bowl. I do this on a set of kitchen scales so I can measure when I have reached the right about of juice. Which is 4 cups ( 35 fl oz or 1 liter) of lemon and lime juice.
4. Once the sugar syrup has cooled, add the lemon and lime juice and combine them.
5. Pour the cordial in to clean jars to store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for 3-6 months.

To make up your cordial, mix 1-2 fl oz (30-60 ml) of lemon-lime cordial with 1 cup of water to dilute and enjoy your homemade lemon and lime cordial!

Cordial can also be served over ice and mixed with soda water for a lime lemonade.

Recommended Products

• Manual Citrus Juicer
• Electric Citrus Juicer
• Large Saucepan

Further reading:

• Why Is My Lemon Bitter? Answered!
• Vegan Tacos Recipe With Jerk-Spiced Jackfruit
• Raspberry and Lime No-Churn Ice Cream Recipe
• Easy Gluten Free Key Lime Pie Recipe with Almond Crust
• Sweet Stewed Chayote Fruit Recipe
• Vegan Meatballs Recipe (Lentil Meatballs)
• Tomato Chili And Ginger Jam Recipe