Ginger Cucumber and Lemon Water

Fresh lemon slices and ginger are great ways to add more flavor to water while the flavor of the cucumber slices is a bit more subtle.  To have stronger ginger-infused water, see the below for how to use the grated method instead of slices.

It only takes a few minutes to make a pitcher of lemon ginger and cucumber water to enjoy at a summer party or to change up plain water.  For more refreshing beverages try mango agua fresca, cucumber lemon and mint infused water, or a pineapple slushie.

Recipe features

• Refreshing infused water!
• Great for summertime!
• Easy to make and uses simple ingredients!
• A healthy beverage to increase your water intake!

Ingredient notes

Please see the recipe card below for exact measurements for the lemon water with cucumber and ginger.

Water - I use filtered water.  The infused water does taste better cold, so place the pitcher in the fridge to chill.  You can always add ice, but once it melts it will throw off the water to cucumber, lemon, and ginger ratio.

Cucumber - There are several different types of cucumbers, but we only tested with English and garden cucumbers (regular shorter cucumbers found at the grocery store) for this infused water.  Either one can be used, but we thought garden cucumbers gave a better cucumber flavor to the infused water.  

An English cucumber has thin skin and small seeds.  They tend to be longer and usually sold in plastic wrap.  Garden cucumbers are common in North America and have a thicker smoother skin and larger seeds.  Garden cucumbers bought at the store are sometimes waxed, if this is the case for you then peel the skin.  The skin can also be bitter, so we normally peel garden cucumbers when we use them for salads.  After testing, peeling didn’t seem necessary for the cucumber water.

Thinly slice the cucumber for the infused water, discarding the ends.  Peel or don’t peel the cucumbers.  They do look prettier with the peels on for a big pop of color in the pitcher with the lemon slices.

For more beverages with cucumbers, try a pineapple cucumber smoothie or a mango cucumber smoothie.

Lemon - Fresh lemon juice is better than prepackaged lemon juice.  Thinly slice the lemon and remove the seeds.  I use 1 medium lemon to pair with the cucumber.  If I have a large or extra-large lemon, I’ll use most of it but not all of it.  Slice the lemons, keeping the rind intact to prevent them from falling apart and having little bits floating in the water.

Fresh ginger - Use fresh ginger for the infused cucumber lemon ginger water recipe.  Peel and thinly slice the ginger root to expose more of the surface to better infuse the water.  To release more ginger flavor muddle the slices in the bottom of the pitcher with a muddler or a wooden spoon.

For a stronger ginger flavor

Slice the lemon and cucumber as per the recipe and add to a pitcher along with the water. Then peel and grate 2 inches of ginger with a microplane instead of slices for a stronger ginger flavor.  The recipe below calls for 3 inches, but for the grated method I chose to reduce it to 2 inches since it makes a stronger ginger-infused water. 

Then gather up the freshly grated ginger in the palm of your hand and squeeze the pile to release the liquid.  The pile should be very wet.  You’ll want to do this over the pitcher of water.  Squeeze out as much liquid as you can.  Discard the pulp.

Tips

• If you grate ginger for a stronger flavor, a microplane works well for fresh ginger.  It will be grated finely into a liquid pile of ginger.
• The infused water can be enjoyed as soon you make it, but if you let it sit for an hour or more this gives the cucumber a chance to infuse into the water.
• If the water is low for several hours or overnight, the flavor will be concentrated.
• The cucumber water tastes better cold.
• I use a 2 quart pitcher which has plenty of room for the water, lemon, and cucumbers.
• Make sure the ingredients stay below the water line.

Variations

Enjoy the cucumber lemon and ginger water as is or change things up with:

• Instead of lemons try other citrus fruits like grapefruit or limes
• Try Meyer lemons
• Add fresh mint like in this cucumber lemon mint water

How to make ginger lemon and cucumber water

Wash the produce first.  Then thinly slice one medium-sized cucumber and one medium lemon.  If you use a larger kind of cucumber like an English cucumber you can use half to ¾ of it.  It won't change much of the flavor if you use the entire cucumber, only the amount of room in the pitcher.  I skip the lemon end slices that don’t have any pulp and are just the pith and peel.

Remove seeds from the lemon slices before adding to the pitcher. Peel and thinly slice 3 inches of fresh ginger. Add the slices of cucumber, lemon, and ginger to a large pitcher with 6 cups of water.

Use a muddler or a wooden spoon to gently mash the slices of ginger to release more flavor.  There is no need to crush them and break them apart.  Don’t mash the sliced lemon or cucumber.

Let the water chill in the fridge for 1 hour for the flavors to infuse. The water can be enjoyed immediately with ice cubes, but chilling for an hour gives the cucumber and ginger more time to infuse into the water.

The water can be refreshed, but if the water starts to become flavorless or bitter then it’s time to make a new batch.  Once we use up the first batch I’ll add more water to reuse the ingredients again.  If you grate the ginger for a more intense ginger flavor, refreshing the water lets you reuse the cucumber and lemon again but you won’t have the strong ginger flavor.

Storage

Store fresh cucumber lemon ginger water in the refrigerator for 2 days.  If the water lacks flavor or has a bitter taste, then it's time to discard. 

Related recipes

• Mango agua fresca

I hope you enjoy the cucumber ginger lemon water.  If you did feel free to rate it and leave a comment.