Here’s a great recipe for colorful drinks made from whole fruits. The meaning of the Spanish words – Aguas Frescas is “fresh waters’ and Aguas frescas traditionally are a combination of fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water to make light non-alcoholic beverages. There is no added sugar in this recipe. The fruit is so sweet and delicious, naturally. I used cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon and you can use any soft fruit that’s blendable like mangoes and papayas. Peel the fruit, remove the pits or seeds, cut it in chunks and process it up in a blender. The result is a creamy sweet beverage with no added sugar. If you like something a little bubbly you can mix sparkling water in it. Make you own mixes by adding lemon or lime juice. I especially love adding a little fresh ginger juice to my Aguas Frescas.
Ingredients
Melon, peeled and chopped.
(one cantaloupe makes about 4 cups liquid, one honeydew makes about 6 cups and one small watermelon makes about 16 cups.
Directions
Place melon in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Options: Mix with sparkling water, add fresh lemon, lime juice or ginger to taste. Top with a sprig of mint.
Tip: Save a little extra melon drink and freeze in ice cube trays to make fun, colorful ice cubes to put in your glass. Ginger juice, diluted with water 4:1 is also great frozen in ice cube trays to add to your Aguas Fresca.