Agua de Piña

With the scorching temperatures approaching the weekend, I was delighted to find fresh pineapples at the food market. I've been devising loads of ways to use this now gorgeously ripe pineapple: sliced with a sprinkled Tajin chili & lime powder but my all time favourite way of eating pineapple is in the form of an Agua Fresca. If you are a regular reader, you might remember my post on Agua de Jamaica or Hibiscus Iced Tea? Here I explained how these delicious Aguas Frescas are teas or fruit juices diluted with water and loaded with ice. They are sold everywhere on the streets in Mexico and in many good restaurants, they're delicious and great thirst quenchers. 

So this Agua de Piña or Pineapple Water, is incredibly easy and very quick to make. It's great during hot days and perfect for picnics and BBQs and if you have kids, you can give it to them with no guilt (far better than a fizzy drink). They can be frozen and eat as an ice pop too. Don't be put off by the amount of sugar in the recipe, it all depends on how ripe and sweet your pineapple is and remember that you are making a whole litre of this. Alternatively, you can use artificial sweetener, but I honestly believe that the natural sugar plus the sweetness of the fruit itself make it even more delicious! Oh, you will need a blender or a food processor to make this!

Steps:

Put the pineapple, sugar and water into the blender or food processor and blitz till it is liquidized. If your food processor is too small, you can do it in batches. Make sure you liquidize everything well as this is one of those drinks that will always have a bit of the fibre of the pineapple running through, but you don't want it too rough. Alternatively, if you don't want any bits, sieve it after liquidizing it.

Step 2

Add ice cubes to taste and get ready to enjoy it! Couldn't be simpler, could it?

This 'agua de pina' keeps really well in the fridge as long as it's covered. Always shake or stir it before serving iced cold. Enjoy!