Sweetening Cold Drinks with Fruit Juice

Fresh fruit juice can make a cool summer drink on its own, or be used to sweeten lemonade or iced tea. One of the most refreshing drinks I've ever had was on a hot summer day at a New York restaurant, sitting at a sidewalk table. The waiter brought fresh lemonade sweetened only with plum juice. Heaven!

If you are going to use juice as a sweetener, it's best to use fresh-squeezed, as juices in bottles or cartons have been cooked, raising the concentration of sugars.

I like to drink fruit juice diluted. I'll put a splash of fruit juice in a whole tall glass of water--so I get the flavor and sweetness of the fruit without the blood sugar spike. Remember, even fresh-squeezed juice is more concentrated sugar (albeit natural) than in the whole fruit, so use it sparingly.