Welcome, dear readers, to high summer! It’s July 13, and all the produce is out-producing itself, offering us loads of opportunities for new and perennial favorite taste experiences.
Yes, I know this is not a cooking or gardening or farmers’ market blog. But here’s the deal: I am saddled with a flare-up of sciatica (likely brought on by too much air travel and car travel, but wha’cha gonna do…). This means it’ll be a couple of weeks before I’m okay to resume summer outdoor activity. For now, I’m enrolled in physical therapy, which is good for me if not good for the season. Sigh.
But, in keeping with the brightness and warmth and availability of copious amounts of beautiful fruits, I’m, literally making lemonade out of lemons. And other cold yummy summer beverages. Here following, several recipes and beverage projects I’m engaging in these days.
First, I always make sure to have plenty of freshly-brewed iced tea on hand. This means heating water in a kettle until boiling and pouring it into a container (I use a marge metal bowl), and then dipping tea bags into it to infuse them. I leave them for 5–7 minutes, then remove them. Once the tea has cooled, I transfer it into a pitcher for the fridge. It never lasts more than a day or two, so it always tastes very fresh and looks clear.
I use Earl Grey tea, but you can use anything you like, caffeinated or non, black, green, herbal, whatever.
Just. don’t. use. instant. Ever.
Potential variations: you can add sugar to the bowl before the boiling water, or honey (as I prefer). Amounts vary according to taste. You might also add a handful of fresh mint leaves if you like, taking them out with a strainer within 15–20 minutes. You can also leave the tea unsweetened, and make simple syrup for people to add to their glasses to taste.
Basic simple syrup recipe: combine one cup sugar (any kind) with one cup water in a small saucepan. Heat up the pan and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Take it off the heat before it boils. Then let it sit and cool. Put it in a container with a lid in the fridge. It will last several weeks.
Variations on simple syrup recipe: you can add so many things to simple syrup, like mint leaves, lemons, lime, basil, other herbs, you name it. Make sure to strain them out before storing in the fridge. Feel free to go wild. Here’s a link to some interesting syrups you can try. One I love is this tea-infused one, which I add to beverages other than tea…
Second, it’s great to have fresh-squeezed lemonade around as well, as it can form the base of fun fruity concoctions. There are loads of recipes online, but here’s what I do:
- make simple syrup with 1-1 water and sugar
- squeeze maybe 6–8 lemons, enough to have at least one cup of fresh lemon juice
- mix together one cup of lemon juice, one cup of cold water, and 1/2 cup simple syrup.
- Then add water to the mixture until you like the taste
- serve in glasses with plenty of ice, mint leaf or raspberry or lemon wheel or something else festive
- tip: maybe leave the mixture a little strong, as serving with ice waters it down a bit
Variations on lemonade: you can use mint simple syrup to make minty lemonade, or add pureed strawberries to make strawberry lemonade.
Or, you can use my list, substituting limes for lemons, for fresh limeade. It’s more work, as it takes more limes, but it tastes dee-licious.
Another pro tip: get ahold of a very good lemon/lime juicer for the job. Flimsy ones will just irritate you and make you give up and blame me. Here are ones I recommend:
I don’t have a view on electric juicers. Readers, anyone have expert knowledge on this?
Third, you can combine the beauty of fresh ice tea with the tart sweetness of lemonade to make a drink called The Arnold Palmer. Yes, it’s named after this guy. He was a very great golfer. And, in the 1960s, according to this wikipedia article, he ordered a drink at lunch in Palm Springs made with 3/4 unsweetened ice tea and 1/4 lemonade. As the story goes, a woman copied his ordering the drink one day at lunch saying, “I’ll have that Arnold Palmer drink, too.” And so a drink was born.
These days, the drink is very commonly served in the summer at resorts and warm-weather locales. A variation of it with half iced tea and half lemonade is more popular, but you can be your own judge.
Fourth, and general variation on any of these beverages: you can add some razzmatazz by pouring a float of seltzer (or prosecco, or ginger ale, or whatever alcoholic or non-alcoholic bubbly you like). In fact, a version of this drink has its own name: the Raspberry/Lime Rickey. Just make whatever simple syrup you want, add lemon or lime juice or ade, and then froth it up with whatever bubbly you want. I love them- they say old-fashioned New England summer to me.
Fifth and finally, there’s the wonder of the homemade agua fresca, a Mexican beverage that you can make wherever you are. If you haven’t heard of this or tried it, you’ll soon very very glad you read on. Here’s some information from this article in the Mexico News Daily, and some pictures they shared of the wide variety of aguas frescas available:
Refreshing and flavorful, aguas frescas are a treasured part of Mexico’s gastronomic heritage. Sold widely by vendors, shops and restaurants, the non-alcoholic drinks are instantly recognizable.
People have been flavoring water with fruit and flowers in Mexico since ancient times…Many of the popular aguas frescas found in Mexico today — notably, jamaica and horchata — were made possible by the trade network the Spanish established during the colonial era. However, [many] aguas frescas developed regionally [with] grains and legumes like barley and alfalfa to nuts and seeds like almonds and chia and flowers and spices like hibiscus and cinnamon. Fruits were even more frequently used, of course, thanks to a natural bounty that included introduced plants like grapefruit, mango, melon, orange, papaya, passionfruit, peach and local ones including sapote, soursop, guava, tejocote and xoconostle.
My introduction to agua fresca came at La Tacqueria in the Mission District of San Francisco. You must go there if you are ever in San Francisco. The cantaloupe version is still my favorite. But I’ve made several kinds at home since then.
Unlike say, lemonade or limeade. agua frescas are made by pureeing actual fruits or vegetables (or combinations), then adding simple syrup and either lemon or lime juice. You put the whole mixture through a fine sieve (or cheesecloth, depending on your temperament– I go with the sieve), add water to taste, and there you have it– a pure, refreshing elixir of summer produce, made just for you.
You’ll need a blender (or vitamix or food processor of something that will seriously puree your ingredients). Here’s a good recipe and guide to aguas frescas. But all comes down to this:
- find some fruit or veg you want to make a beverage with (I’m trying cucumber mint next week)
- peel, seed and slice it
- puree it in your pureeing contraption with some water (1–2 cups?)
- add some lime or lemon juice (a few tablespoons?) and puree again
- adjust as needed, adding simple syrup if you want more sweetness or a different flavor
- pour into container to chill for an hour in fridge
- use in two days (but that really won’t be a problem)
Aguas frescas are their own world, and you can read more about them here to start if you’re interested.
Pro tip: if you have leftover sliced fruit that is maybe not as sweet or soft as you would like, puree it with some water and lime or lemon juice, and voila! instant agua fresca. Throw in whatever you want. The difference between smoothie and agua fresca is one of degree, so you are the boss of your ingredients and consistency.
Last comment: I hear from Samantha and Sarah that the muskmelons will be in season when I visit Ontario in August, so we will make muskmelon aguas frescas! Yum. Will report back.
Dear readers, what summer fruit beverages do you love and/or do you make? I’d love to hear any tips or recipes you might have to share.
