AGUA FRESCA RECIPE & TIPS FROM DIANA

With our communities being gifted this beautiful Bay Area weather, we felt it only right to to speak to Diana of YoYo Treats to learn more about her refreshing Agua Frescas. 

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A popular drink from Mexico and Central America, Agua Frescas (meaning "fresh water") are deliciously blended non-alcoholic drinks containing water, fresh fruit, flowers, seeds, and sweetener (simple syrups, sugars, etc.). The higher ratio of water to the fruit and other ingredients, results in a thirst quenching experience.

The combinations are truly endless: from summer strawberries and spicy basil, to autumn apples and crisp pears; or winter lemons and fresh cucumbers, to spring black berries and aromatic lavender, you can get very creative with what is season!

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Ingredients:

• Choice of fruit: Bananas, Pineapple, Shredded Coconut, Mango, Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, Watermelon, Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Apples, Pears, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, and Grapefruits

• Choice of fruit juices

• Select vegetables: Cucumbers, Jicama, Yuca, and Celery

• Choice of herbs, flowers, and seeds: Chia Seeds, Mint, Lavender, Basil, Rosemary, Cilantro, and Ginger

• Choice of sweetener: Sugar, Honey, Maple Syrup, or Agave Nectar

• Water

• Ice

• OPTIONS for toppings: Shredded Coconut, Marzipan, Cocoa Powder, Cinnamon, Tajin, Chamoy Sauce, and Dried Herbs

• OPTIONS for creamy texture: Condensed Milk, Coconut Cream, Coconut Milk, and Almond Milk

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The fruit can either be freshly sliced or frozen.

EXPERT TIP:

Selecting fruit that is in season will optimize the flavors in the drink

Blending

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In your smoothie, add your choice of fruit or veggies (at least 2 cups worth, including fruit juice), choice of sweetener (taste as you blend to adjust to your preference because the sweetness of the fruit will affect how much sweetener to add), followed by any fresh herbs, flowers, or seeds, water (at least 4-6 cups), and finally some ice.

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If you're looking to make a more creamy Agua Fresca, such as Diana's Virgin Piña Colada, reserve at least one cup of liquid for the milk. You can always add more for desired texture.

EXPERT TIP:

Agua Frescas are NOT smoothies. The ratio of fruit/juice to water should favor the water.

Make it your own

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When asked about recommendations, Diana HIGHLY suggests going with flavors you already enjoy and then experimenting a little with new ones. This can also include how you might add toppings to dusting the rim.

For example, her new Vitrolito Agua Fresca will have the rim coated with sweet Chamoy Sauce, contain Tamarind Candy sticks, and get dusted with spicy Tajin powder; and her Piña Colada Agua Fresca has a rim coated in condensed milk and shredded coconut. These options add layers of unique and complex flavors to the drink!

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Diana fondly remembers her and her entire extended family taking a trip to visit some hot springs when she was a young girl living in Mexico. After soaking up the warm sun and enjoying each other's company for the day, many of her adult relatives started ordering Piña Coladas from the bar during dinner. Feeling a little jealous, her and her younger cousins requested the drinks too. The bartender laughingly told them he could make some non-alcoholic versions for them to drink.

For Diana, it was not just the deliciously sweet tropical taste of the pineapple and coconut flavors mixing in the cold glass, or the thirst quenching feeling being relieved from the heat of the day, but the moment in time those drinks provided her and her family. The smiles and laughter. Being together.

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