Agua Fresca; Keeping Cool Where It’s Really Hot

In places like Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America they keep cool in the hot months with a refreshing beverage called Agua Fresca. This translates as fresh water, and is a cooling drink made by infusing cold water with pureed fruit. When I was in San Diego two summers ago one of our goals was to eat as many tacos as possible, and since I’m not a beer fan I enjoyed a variety of agua frescas, made from melons, and tropical fruits. They can also be made from seeds and flowers, one made from rice milk, and flavored with cinnamon that is very tasty is called horchata. These are not smoothies! They are lightly sweetened and refreshing and light. The beverage equivalent of a sorbet. Watermelon is particularly cooling, so much so that it can help reduce  fever, aren’t you feeling cooler just thinking about it?

Most agua frescas are sweetened with agave, but Iprefer raw honey so that is what I used. You could use any sweetener you like, just remember these are lightly sweetened. You can definitely play around with flavors and different combinations, adding herbs and if you want to get really elaborate you could make an herb-infused simple syrup. The thing about these is you really want to drink them right away, not just because you’ll want to, but because they are fragile and will start to separate and won’t stay pretty.

We made three, a watermelon and mint, a mango and lime, and a cucumber with both mint and lime. The cucumber, not surprising was the lightest, then the watermelon. The mango, even though we strained it was still pretty thick, and my least favorite. Of the three both my daughter and I liked the watermelon best.  But they were all good. They are also very pretty and would make a colorful contribution to a summer brunch. They are so easy to make, your kids could make them with little supervision, and they can certainly help (if they’re really small). They will love these colorful drinks, and you will too.

Watermelon Agua Fresca

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Ingredients

• 24oz cubed watermelon
• 1 tablespoon raw honey (heated to liquid)
• 10 leaves fresh mint
• 1 cup cold water

Directions

Step 1

Put as much watermelon as will comfortably fit in your blender, I needed to do this in two batches, Add the rest of the ingredients Pour through fine mesh strainer or sieve Taste to adjust sweetness to your preference Serve chilled over ice use within 24 hours

Cucumber-Mint Agua Fresca

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Ingredients

• 1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
• 1 lime juiced
• 10-12 leaves fresh mint
• 1-2 teaspoon raw honey (warmed to liquid)
• 1 cup cold water
• lime slices for garnish

Directions

Step 1

Put all ingredients except lime slices into blender Puree, then strain in fine sieve Taste for sweetness Pour over ice to serve

Mango Agua Fresca

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Ingredients

• 1 ripe mango, skin and seed removed, cut into chunks
• 1/2 Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon honey or agave
• 12oz cold water

Directions

Step 1

Puree mango and water in blender Strain through fine mesh sieve Add lime juice and sweetener Taste and adjust for flavor Pour over ice to serve