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Agua Fresca / Melon Sa Malamig

If your fridge is full of summer fruits and salads with little space for another half melon, try making an Agua Fresca or experiment with the Filipino version, "Melon Sa Malamig", or "Cold Melon Drink".

The basic ingredients for Agua Fresca are just fruit and water. The amount of water, and possibly a sweetner, is really up to you and your individual taste. 

Agua Fresca 

1. Place roughly cubed melon (including seeds) into a blender.
2. For canteloupe or honeydew, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water (depending on dryness of the fruit, add more if more dry), and the juice of up to 1/2 of a lime if desired.
    For watermelon, add up to 1/2 cup of water as watermelon already has a lot of juice.
3. Pulse and blend until the texture is very smooth.
4. Taste the mixture to assess if any sweetner, lime, or more water is needed.
5. Pour the mixture through a strainer, pressing and mixing the pulp to ensure you get all the juice. *This step is optional. If you prefer to have a pulpier Agua Fresca, no need to strain! Just make sure to keep the honeydew and canteloupe seeds out in the first step.
6. Pour into a jar or pitcher and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Melon Sa Malamig (usually only cantaloupe)

1. Remove cantaloupe pulp and seeds (place them aside) and use a melon or cheese grater to make spaghetti-like strips out of the remaining melon flesh. Add them to a pitcher or jar. (Try to rescue as much of the lost juice as possible from this step, also adding it to the jar with melon strips.)
2. Place the pulp and seeds into a strainer over the container of melons strips and pour 4-8 cups of water through the strainer to extract as much juice as possible. If you are using only a little bit of melon, start with a small amount of water so as to not over-dilute your juice. 
3. Use a spoon to squeeze the juice from the pulp and seeds.
4. Taste the juice mixture to see if any sweetener or more water is needed.
5. Store the juice in the fridge until ready to serve. This drink is best served with a spoon or fork to make sure you can get all the tasty melon pieces at the bottom! 

Did you know that cantalope and honeydew are actually quite different from watermelon, and need to be stored differently? Read our Storage Tips for Melon.

 

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