How to Make Aguas Frescas – 7 Refreshing Flavors

August 5, 2023

close up of aguas frescas flavors including watermelon, cucumber, mango, pineapple, and cantaloupe

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Agua fresca is a lightweight and refreshing fruit drink made with blended fruit, water, lime, and sweetener. Try these 7 scrumptious flavors – watermelon, cucumber, pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, peach, and chia fresca!

different kinds of fruit flavors of aguas frescas in glasses, including watermelon, cucumber, pineapple, and mango

Aguas frescas are probably the most refreshing drinks to take pleasure in through the summertime! They’re good for summer time cookouts, picnics, and BBQs as a result of they are often made forward of time and may simply scale up to serve massive events.

The seven flavors of agua fresca I take pleasure in probably the most are watermelon, cucumber, pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, peach, and lemon chia fresca.

I discover these are the most effective fruits to use through the scorching summer time months as a result of they’re all in season and completely candy and ripe!

What is agua fresca?

Aguas frescas is a lightweight, refreshing fruit primarily based beverage that is in style in Mexico and Central America. It immediately interprets to imply ‘recent waters’ in Spanish.

It’s made by mixing recent fruit with water, lime juice, and sweetener. Other varieties embrace utilizing rice to make horchata or including chia seeds to make chia fresca.

During the spring and summer time months, aguas frescas are bought in all places from meals stands, eating places, open markets, and road distributors. They’re bought in massive, clear glass containers referred to as vitroleros, which showcase their bight, vibrant colours.

When I visited Mexico, I attempted a couple of dozen flavors however I all the time went again to my favorites which had been watermelon and cucumber.

Why you’ll like it

It’s good for summer time cookouts, picnics, and enormous get togethers! You can make them a day forward of time and retailer it within the fridge till prepared to serve.
Great for your entire household! It’s a scrumptious non-alcoholic drink so it is great for youngsters to take pleasure in through the summer time in addition to adults.
Healthier than fruit juice! Fruit juice often has plenty of sugar however this do-it-yourself agua fresca is largely water blended with recent fruit.
It’s a flexible recipe! You can select what kind of sweetener to use and the way a lot to add, if any. You may determine whether or not to pressure the agua fresca to make it clean or preserve the pulp for the fiber.
It’s top-of-the-line summer time drinks to have to settle down and hydrate!

Ingredients you’ll want

Fresh fruits – watermelon, pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, peach, cucumber; use ripe fruits which can be in season
Cold filtered water – helps chill the agua fresca instantly
Lime juice – provides a little bit of brightness
Sweetener – sugar, agave, honey, stevia
Herbs – (non-compulsory) mint, thyme, basil, rosemary

How to make it – step-by-step directions

Blend: Add the recent fruit right into a excessive pace blender together with chilly, filtered water. Blend on excessive till it is pureed and clean.

Strain: This subsequent step is non-compulsory, however extremely really useful if you’d like a clean drink with out the pulp. I additionally suggest straining the pulp when you’re making this upfront or plan on serving this at a celebration or picnic.
Note: Some fruits create extra pulp than others. For instance, I discovered cantaloupe and peach to create extra pulp when blended than watermelon and mango. I recommend straining the juice if there’s an excessive amount of pulp after mixing.

Sweeten: Taste the agua fresca and sweeten to style. If your fruit may be very candy, you will not have to add a lot. Adjust in accordance to your desire
Add lime juice: Add as a lot or as little lime juice as you need. Some fruits are extra acidic than others so add much less lime juice for fruits which can be extra tart.
Serve: garnish with a slice of fruit and serve chilled or over ice. If you are including herbs, muddle them beforehand to infuse extra of their flavors.

Expert ideas & tips

Taste earlier than including sweetener and lime juice. Fruits can range in sweetness and acidity so alter in accordance to your preferences.
Strain the pulp if you’d like a clean consistency. Some fruits have extra pulp so I like to recommend straining these fruit juices.
Freeze a portion of the agua fresca in an ice dice tray and add them into the pitcher earlier than serving. This retains it chilly with out diluting the flavour.
Combine totally different fruits to make a mixture of flavors! Cucumber and melon make an awesome mixture as does strawberry pineapple. Experiment with totally different fruits to discover your favourite!
Muddle any herbs earlier than including them to your drink for max taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does agua fresca style like?

Agua fresca tastes like a lightweight, refreshing model of fruit juice. The taste is someplace between fruit juice and fruit infused water.

While fruit juice is the juice extracted from fruit, agua fresca is recent fruit blended with water, so it is a a lot lighter model of fruit juice, but has extra fruit flavors in contrast to fruit infused water.

How lengthy does agua fresca final?

Agua fresca tastes greatest if consumed the day it is made or the day after. You can retailer it within the fridge in an hermetic container for up to 2 days.

Is it wholesome?

Agua fresca generally is a wholesome, hydrating drink stuffed with fiber and nutritional vitamins! Avoid straining the drink after mixing the fruit to preserve within the fiber. You can cut back or skip the sweetener or use a sugar free sweetener resembling stevia if you would like to keep away from added sugars.

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