2011-06-26

Watermelon Agua Fresca

Want a nice refreshing treat on a hot day? Not a fan on overprocessed sodas? Don't want tons of sugary syrups in your drink? Want something that tastes fresh, healthy, light, but still sweet? 

Well, I think I just may have a drink for you. Its called an agua fresca or water refreshment. Its becoming more and more popular. Its very common in Mexico and many other parts of Latin America. The great thing about agua fresca is that its not heavy, syrupy, or super sugary. 


It is, in general, equal parts fruit(s) or fruit juice and water, a little lime juice, and ice. The slightest bit of sugar can be added depending on the sweetness of the fruit you are using.  In our case we used less than a tablespoon of sugar for a pitcher full of agua fresca. 


We chose watermelon agua fresca. Both because its summer and watermelon is so refreshing during the summer months but also because we had watermelon left over from the farmers market and we wanted to use it before it went bad. 


We started with some left over watermelon chunks. 




The first step was to deseed the watermelon. If we were just mixing watermelon and water then we could have left the seeds in and ran it through the strainer. But, since we're using the blender I was concerned about itty bitty seed bits getting through the strainer. 


The next step is to blend equal parts water or ice and equal parts watermelon. 


We also squeezed in just a tad more than half a lime. In other juice from 1/2 of lime and another       1/37 of another half. Something like that. I don't know if they sell measuring spoons that have 1/37 but it was something like that. They key here people is just to play it be ear. Mix it, try it out and add more if needed. 




Once you've got it blended its a good idea to run it through a strainer. Remember this is an agua fresca and not a slushie. I mean you can do a slushie, no skin off my nose. I didn't do a slushie.But you can. Whatever. 


Once you taste it you can add sugar if you want. Again, we made enough for about 4-5 glasses and only used a tablespoon of sugar. I've seen some recipes that call for the likes of 1/4-1/2 cups of sugar. That's just crazy. It should be light and slightly sweet. Not painfully sweet. 


The end result is a delight. Light, refreshing, and even not terrible for you 




Enjoy!!!





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