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Okay, I know this one probably sounds a little weird, but trust me. It’s good. Really good. Eye popping, wow, surprisingly good. Especially on a scorchingly hot summer day.
Agua frescas are refreshing fruit drinks they sell all over Mexico, and that you can find in this country at almost any taqueria. They’re cooling and sweet and are great alongside spicy food.
This particular agua fresca is made with cucumbers, fresh limes, and mint. My good friend and local caterer Arturo Vargas made this for us the other day, inspired by agua frescas he enjoyed while trying to keep cool in the steamy Yucatan peninsula.
It’s the cucumber juice base that seems to have the effect of lowering one’s body temperature. (Gives new meaning to the phrase “cool as a cucumber”.) In any case, this is a drink that I wouldn’t have made but for my friend who knew I would like it. And now I want to drink it all summer long, and think you will too, once you’ve tried it.
By the way, Arturo tells me you can take the purée solids and use them as a facial mask!
Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb of cucumbers (about 2 good sized cucumbers), ends trimmed, but peel still on, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup lime juice from fresh limes (from about 1 pound of limes, or 5 to 10 limes, depending on how juicy they are)
- 1 1/4 cup packed (spearmint) mint leaves (about a large handful), woody stems removed
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Approximately 1 1/4 cup of water
Method
1 Blend ingredients: Put ingredients in blender, add enough water to fill 3/4 of blender. Hold the lid on the blender and purée until smooth.
2 Strain out solids: Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the purée through it, pressing against the sieve with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid out as possible.
3 Add ice: Fill a large pitcher halfway with ice cubes. Add the juice. Serve with sprigs of mint and slices of lime.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca
Fantastic recipe… Definitely a must for hot days! I have a question though. How long would it last in the fridge? I mean could I make 2-3 days supply at a time?
This is best consumed the day it’s made, but it will still be good on the second day, the colors will just be a bit muddied. Another reader suggested freezing this drink in silicon molds and then popping it out whenever you want it! That might be a better solution for instant fresca! Thanks for your question, TAS123!
This recipe is AMAZING — it is so refreshing I made it for a work event and everyone loved it!
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really, really, really amazing recipe! so frigging good! i made it a few times, exactly as stated, and it was super tasty!!! ten stars out of five. :D
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liked very much, would like to know about antoher drink I cannot perfect yet. kiwi, cucumber, lime and mint. found at local latin markers. simpy delicious..
AMAZING! So refreshing!!
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So glad you liked it Sarah! It is rather refreshing for the summer, isn’t it?