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esperanza

Mar 27, 2003, 5:55 AM

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Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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I just finished making a big pitcher of agua de guayaba con fresa (guava and strawberry)~it's cooling in the refrigerator~and it put me in a revery of thinking about a variety of things: how long I wondered HOW to make aguas, how long it took me to figure out proportions of fruit/sugar/water, which ones are my favorites, etc.

My personal favorite is one I've never made but which is served fairly frequently in a restaurant near me. It's agua de piña con alfalfa...pineapple with alfalfa. It's green, and incredibly refreshing. Its flavor is predominantly pineapple with an overtone of meadow.

The one I like best that I prepare myself is the one I made this morning.

The one I like least is agua de melón, cantaloupe.

So I ask you...which ones do you like the best, and least? Anyone have a recipe to share?

Agua Fresca de Guayaba con Fresa

1/2 kilo strawberries

1/2 kilo guavas

Sugar to taste

2 small cones dark piloncillo

Water

Wash and halve the guavas. Put them in a heavy saucepan with the piloncillo cones; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Boil until the guavas are soft and the seedy insides begin to puff out of the meaty outsides.

Wash and hull the strawberries. Put them in the blender with 1/2 cup sugar and enough water to let them blend smoothly, about 3/4 cup. Blend until liquified. Pour the mix into a 3-liter pitcher.

Remove the guavas to the blender from their cooking liquid. Add enough of that liquid to let the guavas blend smoothly. Liquify. Strain the guava purée through a mesh strainer into the pitcher of strawberry purée. Stir to blend the fruits.

Add water to fill the pitcher. Add sugar if needed, to taste. Chill.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

jennifer rose

Mar 28, 2003, 4:46 PM

Post #2 of 12 (4205 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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I find most aguas just too sweet. And even if they're watered down, there's still the matter of what I consider too much sugar.

But here's my fav:

AGUA DE JAMAICA (hibiscus flowers)

Put a handful of jamaica into a non-reactive pan with some water and boil for a minute or so. Allow it to cool, then strain into a pitcher and add more water. If anyone thinks it's too tart, they can add more water or sugar to taste.

viajera

Mar 28, 2003, 8:52 PM

Post #3 of 12 (4198 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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ayyyyy, if anyone can drink jamaica without sugar, one has a real taste for tart. I make this in the summer, once a week - delicious, with sugar added to taste and a squeeze of lime for balance. But maybe the hibiscus is sweeter in Mexico? ayyyyyy

esperanza

Mar 28, 2003, 9:24 PM

Post #4 of 12 (4194 views)

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Re: [viajera] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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Ay ay ay...the hibiscus is just as tart in Mexico as anywhere. Jennifer is a stoic...LOL...my mouth puckers just thinking about it.

Many times I use liquid or powdered stevia to sweeten cold drinks, including aguas...it substantially cuts sugar consumption and contains no aspartame or saccharine.

I agree with Jennifer, iced tea is the beverage of choice when the heat rolls in. April and May and the first half of June are sun tea months here, the colder the tea the better when the temperature is hovering around 37 degrees. It's best to loll under a fan with a liter of tea in hand, and a constant supply of ice cubes.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

jennifer rose

Mar 29, 2003, 8:47 AM

Post #5 of 12 (4191 views)

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Stevia?

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What is stevia? And where might one buy it?

Lavanda EnLaCocina

Mar 29, 2003, 10:54 AM

Post #6 of 12 (4189 views)

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Stevia Rebaudiana

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Stevia is a natural herb with sweet leaves. It can be grown and the leaves dried and ground up in a mortar and pestle.

It is extremely sweet, so should be used sparingly. It is totally natural, originating in South America, I believe in
Peru, and does not have the same properties as sugar in the sense of the bodies' reaction in processing it.

Therefore, it does not make your blood sugar swing high snd low. And thus, is good for diabetics.

Nor does it have an aftertaste. Unlike some artificial
sweeteners, it willnot break down when baked or heated to a high temperature.

It can be purchased as a fresh herb plant, or in powder or liquid drops forms.

esperanza

Mar 29, 2003, 11:58 AM

Post #7 of 12 (4188 views)

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Re: [Lavanda EnLaCocina] Stevia Rebaudiana

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Thanks, Lavanda, good synopsis of stevia. We can google it for more info.

The only fly in the ointment is where to buy it...I haven't looked for it in Mexico, as a friend gave me an enormous supply of it about six months ago. I haven't seen it here, but then I haven't been actively looking, either.

Here's what I hear from others who use it: it doesn't do well in cooked foods. The heating process apparently brings out a bitter flavor in the stevia. It is fantastic, however, in cold things like beverages, fruits such as strawberries and raspberries and any other fruit you don't generally eat with chile, salt, and limón...etc.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Rolly

Mar 29, 2003, 12:42 PM

Post #8 of 12 (4184 views)

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Re: [Lavanda EnLaCocina] Stevia Rebaudiana

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I’m very glad to learn about stevia because I’m 10 days into the Atkins diet (down 7 pounds this morning), and my sweet tooth is in the throes of a death agony. Now if I can just finds a place to buy it.

I did a Google on stevia (isn’t it wonderful how we can turn nouns into verbs in English). Among the jillion sites praising stevia is this one by the Center for Science in the Public Interest -- http://www.cspinet.org/additives/stevia/ -- which explains why no government (USA, European, UK or WHO) has yet approve it as a food product. Basically because no research has been submitted showing that it is safe. There is none that shows it is not safe. So I am going to try it myself. If it kills me or makes hair grow on my bald spot, I’ll let you know.

BTW one of the US applicants for approval was the Lippton Tea company.

Here is the Google search site: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=Stevia It returned 116,000 hits. Happy reading.

Rolly Pirate

jennifer rose

Apr 2, 2003, 12:06 AM

Post #9 of 12 (4167 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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Even more recipes for aguas can be found at Karen Hursh Graber's article at http://www.mexconnected.com/...a/kgaguasfrutas.html

Agua de Melón
Agua de Sandía (Watermelon)
Agua de Limón (Lime)
Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Flowers)
Agua de Guayaba (Guava)
Agua de Tamarindo (Tamarind)

mazgordon

Apr 18, 2003, 8:57 PM

Post #10 of 12 (4145 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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Hey, thanks all for the info on stevia. I am a new resident of Mazatlan and a diabetic. Iwill be looking for it. Maybe I can grow it in my garden when I get it started.

Very happy to have found this site and will visit often.

Susan G.

¡Echar todo la carne al asador!

dominguez_26

May 18, 2011, 5:18 PM

Post #11 of 12 (3820 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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I love agua de melón!!!!
melon water

if anyone is interested in preparing melon water just go to:

http://www.mexican-authentic-recipes.com/drinks-melon_water

Cheers!

(This post was edited by dominguez_26 on May 18, 2011, 5:23 PM)

Rolly

May 18, 2011, 6:35 PM

Post #12 of 12 (3807 views)

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Re: [Dominguez_26] Aguas Frescas de la Temporada

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EEE Gads! How did you find this old thread. I read what I wrote 8 years ago, and it was news to me.
I have zero memory of it. Fun.

Rolly Pirate