Agua Fresca 21: Agua de Guayaba 1
Guayaba is the Spanish for guava. Guava is not a common fruit in the US. Perhaps the fact that it is full of hard seeds is the reason, along with the fact that it grows in tropical climates. I once read that in India they are called the fruit of the poor because the rather weedy trees produce so abundantly.
I have loved the rich fruity aroma of guavas and the sweet pulp ever since I first tasted them in Nigeria too many years ago to think about. Not everyone does. My husband will sniff and say what’s that smell? in a disparaging tone any time I have them in the kitchen. His loss, I’m afraid.
They make a lovely agua but it does require some messing about with strainers. So this first agua de guayaba is a quick cheat. It’s not as good as an agua made from fresh fruit but sometimes people turn up and you need to offer something in a hurry. And to my mind it’s still lots nicer than a canned soft drink.
Juice companies in Mexico offer “nectar” as well as “jugo” (juice). Nectar is thicker and appears to have more of the fruit pulp as well as added sugar (of course). Here I’ve emptied a bottle of Nectar de Guayaba into a pitcher. The drunken tilt comes from perspective problems in my small apartment kitchen in Mexico. I will simply top that up with water and there’s my near-instant agua de guayaba.
By the way I had mentioned I was talking about agua fresca on the Splendid Table. Last night I finally had a chance to listen to the program. Lynne Rossetto-Kaspar and her producer Sally Swift did a great job of reporting the effervescent Mexico City culinary scene. Here’s the download link.
WOW! I love this idea! I think I’ll try it on Apricot Nectar and Pear Nectar and Peach Nectar and…..
THX
I should add that this is not my idea. I’ve seen Mexicans who pride themselves on their cooking do this. Mango is another good one. Very handy in a hurry. Some work betterthan others. Bottled pomegranate juice makes a very poor imitatiion of a fresh pomegranate agua fresca for example.