agua de sandia

I am counting the days until I can escape from New York and soak in the almost perfect SoCal sunshine. Let's face it, August in NY is not pretty. You're not pretty. It's hot. It's humid. Sticky. And just plain gross.


Staying hydrated is super important during these dog days of summer. Water is your number one, but sometimes you want something else. That something else is agua de sandia, also known as watermelon water/juice.


Making your own aguas frescas is so easy! The hardest part is picking out fresh and juicy fruits. When it comes to picking out a watermelon, I cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Since you'll be processing the watermelon in either a blender or food processor, you don't have to worry about buying a seedless watermelon. Although what I thought was "seedless", it wasn't. Mine had a few seeds.....

There isn't really any special way to cut up a watermelon. Simply cut in half, cut into pieces you can handle, cut off the rind and roughly chop up into pieces. You're only interested in the red and juicy flesh. 

INGREDIENTS

a watermelon

lime juice

sugar (optional) or sugar syrup

cold mint tea (optional)

Add about 3 cups of chopped melon to a food processor or blender. Pulse until the melon is completely broken down and is mostly liquid. 

Place a sieve or strainer over a bowl or pitcher and strain out the pulp. Continue with the pulsing and straining process until you have used up all of your fruit.

Now is the time to taste your pure juice. You may want to add a little sugar or even better, sugar syrup and a squirt of lime juice to it. You can also stretch the juice by adding just a little bit of regular water. I instead like to dilute my agua de sandia with cold mint tea.

agua de piña & how to cut up a pineapple

Agua de Piña (pineapple water) is what you want to drink if you want to escape to a sunny beach holiday in a glass. And if you live in NYC, this is about as sunny yellow it's going to be in the next few days.....

If you've ever bought this delicious beverage when you're out and about, it can be an outrageous $4.50 or 5 bucks (or more) for a measly 16 ounce plastic cup. Sheesh!!! And in a restaurant? Fuggedaboutit.....You'll probably drop the same $5 on a glass even smaller.

Most aguas frescas have a substantial amount of sugar in them. And they're watered down considerably. My recipe has two ingredients, pineapple and a little bit of water. But before we dive into a glass of sunshine, let's work on cutting up the pineapple.

Picking a ripe pineapple isn't hard at all. Your nose knows! If it smells like a sweet and juicy pineapple, it probably is. Another way is to tug at the pineapple's fronds and if it pulls out easily, it's ripe. Or so "they" say. But if you've bought a pineapple and are not completely sure if it's ripe enough to eat, leave it on your counter top for 1 -2 days. When it's permeating the entire room it's time to cut it up. 

On a clean cutting board, lay your pineapple on it's side. Grab a knife. A serrated knife is best and yes, mine is massive.

Cut off the top fronds and base of pineapple.

Turn your cut pineapple upright so that it's sitting flat on your board. Using your serrated knife, begin to cut off the outer piney skin. Try not to cut off to much of the fruit.

Sometimes your cuts aren't completely clear of "eyes". Just gently slice them off. 

No need to core the pineapple since everything is going into a blender. But if you're planning on eating some of it, you'll need to cut out the core. The core is only good for juicing or gnawing on.

Time to make Agua de Piña!!!

Agua de Piña

makes about 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 ripe pineapple - plus core, cut up into chunks

1 - 2 cups water

juice of a lime (optional)

sugar (optional)

***I didn't need to add any sugar to my Agua de Piña, but if you're pineapple isn't that sweet, add a little sugar to taste.***

In a blender or a food processor, blitz about 1/3 of the pineapple and 1/2 cup of water until the fruit is completely pulverized. Place a fine sieve or strainer over a large bowl or pitcher. Gently pour your pulverized fruit into the sieve or strainer. At this time you may need to move around the pulp with a spoon or spatula in the strainer to extract the juice. Once strained, throw away the pulp. Repeat the blending and straining process until you have used up all of your fruit. 

Chill and serve over ice. You can easily turn this into agua de piña colada by substituting the water for coconut water. And add a shot of rum.....you pickin' up what I'm throwin' down???

Agua de piña.....a sunny beach holiday in a glass.....