One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fruit and vegetables available at local farmers markets and grocery stores. Cantaloupes are one summer fruit that are at the peak of its flavors from June to August. I love integrating this fruit into summer salads and refreshing beverages. One of my first recipe guides on how to make an agua fresca used cantaloupe as its main ingredient. This new recipe is slightly different, but is just as delicious.
Before you scroll down to the recipe for this refreshing Agua de Melon, read the next paragraph for a couple tips on how to pick a ripe cantaloupe.
How to Choose the Best Cantaloupe Melon:
The cantaloupe is the only fruit that will be used in this recipe. That said, it is important that you pick an optimum piece of fruit. Pick a cantaloupe with a raised webbing. Avoid melons that have several green patches between the webbing. This is a clear indicator that the fruit is not fully ripe. After selecting a melon with a nice raised webbing, smell the bottom of the cantaloupe. The fragrance should be sweet and lightly musky. If the bottom of the cantaloupe is not fragrant, it is not ripe. Should you purchase a fruit that has not reached its optimum ripeness, simply place the cantaloupe in a brown paper bag and store in a dark but cool area for 24 – 48 hours. A cool pantry or closet will work perfectly. After storing the cantaloupe for 24 – 48 hours, check the webbing and smell the fruit.
Now that I have shared a couple tips on how to pick a ripe cantaloupe for this recipe, let’s get ready to make the Agua de Melon!
Agua de Melon Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large cantaloupe
- 14 oz chilled sweetened condensed milk
- 12 oz chilled evaporated milk
- 16 oz chilled water
- 2-3 cups ice
Instructions
- Cut cantaloupe into bite size cubes.
- Add the following to a blender: bite size cantaloupe, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and water. Blend on high speed for about 45 seconds to one minute. Since there is a large volume of liquid that is blended with the cantaloupe, you may need to split the ingredients in half and blend in two batches.
- Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the cantaloupe pulp that did not full blend. Discard the excess pulp that cannot be strained. Once you make this recipe as often as I do, you will notice that the ripest cantaloupes will leave very little excess pulp after straining.
- Once you are ready to serve the drink, add plenty of ice and garnish with mint, blueberries or cantaloupe. Store the remaining agua fresca in the refrigerator. Mix the beverage with a large spoon before serving again. I hope that you enjoy this Agua de Melon as much as I do. Although it is simple, it is a classic Mexican agua fresca.
Tools used for this Agua de Melon Recipe
Now that you have read this blog post, I hope that my tips prove to be helpful the next time you choose a cantaloupe. Fortunately, we still have two full months of cantaloupe season to enjoy this summer. If you have additional tips on choosing a cantaloupe, please let me know. I would love to test your tips the next time I visit my local farmers market.
If you have enjoyed this Agua de Melon recipe, I have a myriad of other agua fresca recipes on my blog. One such recipe with a fruit forward and creamy texture is my Agua del Día. Click here, for the full details.
