Agua frescas de fruta (refreshing Mexican fruit drink)
| July 8, 2010 | Posted by ameliaps under Drinks and cocktails, fruit, summer |
I am so happy I “discovered” these fantasticly refreshing and healthy summer drinks!!!
During the summer heat in Mexico (and other Latin American countries) you can find agua frescas de fruta (literally fresh fruit water)served everywhere. These thirst-quenching drinks are prepared using whatever fruits are in season (or vegetables, like cucumbers, and sometimes even flowers or seeds), water and some form of sweetener (sugar, honey, or agave nectar). You can alternatively make a simple sugar syrup by mixing equal parts sugar and water and boiling until the sugar melts and flavor with a variety of chiles, herbs and spices, which is what I like to do. To create an even more refreshing flavor you can add fresh squeezed citrus (lemon lime, orange…) juice.
Make sure to use only enough water to liquify the fruit (it’s better to not add ice but let the agua cool in the fridge until ready to serve). Traditionally, these drinks are prepared without a blender, by mashing the fruit with a fork before mixing it with the water and sweetener, but I find that the blender makes it a breeze to prepare. Salud!!! 
Some of the fruit that can be used for agua frescas includes:
- Honeydew or cantaloupe (Melón)
- Mango (use only 1 cup fruit; about 1 small mango)
- Pineapple (Piña) with a few fresh basil leaves
- Watermelon (Sandia)
- Strawberries (Fresas) with a few fresh mint leaves
- Papaya
- Seedless red grapes (Uvas)
- Red or green cactus pears (a.k.a. prickly pears)
- Cucumbers (Pepino)
- Guayaba (Guava)
- Tamarindo (Tamarind)
- Hibiscus Flowers (flor de Jamaica)
8-10 cups water
Juice of 1 lemon
Sugar syrup made with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water (boil 1 minute, cool)
Spring of mint or small slice of watermelon to decorate
Put the diced watermelon in the blender with 2 cups of the water. Blend until the black seeds break up (about 1-2 minutes.) Let the ground seeds settle to the bottom, then pour the liquid into a pitcher, leaving the seeds in the blender to be discarded. Add the lemon juice, the rest of the water and the sugar syrup. Chill thoroughly or serve over ice.
Agua de pepino (cucumber) with lime juice and ginger syrup
2 english cucumbers (skin on), chopped
8-10 cups of water
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
Sugar syrup made with 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and one piece of fresh ginger (boil 1 minute, cool)
Spring of mint or cucumber slice to decorate
Puree the cucumbers with 2 cups of water in batches and then strain to remove any seeds or pulp, using a fine sieve (try to get as much solids out of the liquid). Add the lime juice and the simple ginger syrup to the strained liquid and then dilute with remaining cups of water. Chill thoroughly or serve over ice.
Here are some awesome agua frescas recipes from the net:
Agua de Sandía (Watermelon), from Karen Hursh Graber
Agua de Limón (Lime), from Karen Hursh Graber
Agua de Guayaba (Guava), from Karen Hursh Graber
Agua fresca with cucumber, lime, serrano chile and agave syrup from LA Times, inspired by Jimmy Shaw, of Loteria Grill
Agua Fresca De Fruta (Basic Fruit Recipe), from BajaCalifornia.com
Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus flowers), from 101 Cookbooks
Agua de Tamarindo (Tamarind), from Saveur
Pineapple Ginger, Cucumber Lemongrass, and Strawberry Thyme Aguas Frescas, from Matt Bites
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I've always loved these, but never make my own. Your Agua de pepino looks great. I like the addition of ginger in the syrup.
I've never even heard of these! We're suffering a heat wave at the moment, so I will try this today. Sounds like just what we need to keep our cool.
Wow really nice drinks.
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