Agua Fresca 5: Agua de Piña (Pineapple) and Variants

Agua de piña (pineapple water) is a winner. Because it’s a strong taste, you don’t need much fruit. A small pineapple should yield two big pitchers of water.

Twist off the tuft of leaves. Cut off the outside of the pineapple. You don’t have to be very careful about this because you will be straining the drink. Cut as much of the pineapple as you think you will need into chunks. Again, you don’t need to worry about discarding the core.

Put the chunks in the blender, add water to generously cover, and blend. It will be quite thick and frothy. Strain through a fine sieve into your pitcher. Add sugar to taste.

As you can see, I’m not giving precise measurements. They really are not necessary for these drinks. The thing to keep in mind is that they are to be drunk in quantity to quench thirst so you don’t want too strong a taste. Of course, if you like to add lots of ice (I prefer not to and Mexicans would regard it a positively dangerous to do so) you can make them stronger.

The other nice thing about these drinks are that almost all of them are quick and easy to make. Most need nothing more than a blender and a sieve.

Now for the variants.

1. For health. Add a piece of the nopal cactus (paddle cactus, Opuntia) to the pineapple before blending. This is on the left of the agua in the photo. In Mexico you can buy these with the spines already cut off. If you live in one of the many parts of the world from the Mediterranean to India where nopales grow but are used, if at all, only for animal feed, then you will need to cut the paddle and cut off the prickly bits yourself. The drink will become a bit glutinous, or one might even say slimy. But in this part of the world, the nopal is believed to be a panacea good for the digestion, obesity, diabetes, you name it.

2. For one of the most delicious drinks you can imagine. Add fresh sprigs of a good-tasting mint to the pineapple before blending. A heavenly drink.

• ← More on Grain and Argentina
• Archaic Drinks: Sorghum Buza in Burundi →