Water is the healthiest, most hydrating, cheapest and easiest to obtain drink; perhaps we do not value enough the privilege of opening a tap and having drinking water come out of it, which we, the fortunate inhabitants of developed countriesBut it doesn’t motivate everyone, and it doesn’t always meet the parameters of transparency, absence of color, smell and taste of its pure form. There are also very simple ways to give it a touch without adding sugar in any of its hundreds of forms, or switching to industrial versions “with fruit juice” (“from concentrate”).
The ingredients
- You can use the skin you remove from a cucumber or peach, pineapple peel – which due to its peculiar shape always has some of the pulp stuck to it, unless you have a postgraduate degree in sculpture -, what’s left of a lemon, lime or citrus fruit that we have squeezed for other recipes.
- The tips of strawberries that we cut for cakes, fruit salads or salads – including the stem – are also useful, as are the cherry stones that we have taken out to make cakes or fruit salads (not the ones that we cut into cubes, please).
- Apple cores and peels; I especially like the tart Granny Smith type.
- More ideas: the stems of herbs, of which we normally only use the leaves, will transfer much more aroma and flavour to the water if we break them, squeeze them or hit them a few times to crush them. The flowers of the herbs will also work.
- The seeds that we remove from the melon are perfect, as well as the clean skins, as long as they have been separated with a knife and not by biting.
- Don’t throw away the tea grounds or other infusions you’ve used: here we only “pass” the tea once, but that’s not the norm in the world, and cold brewing brings out other nuances and flavours. It’s best to avoid the strongest-flavoured teas – those we would normally drink with milk or vegetable drinks – and stick with lighter ones or herbal teas.
- The skin of the ginger that you scraped off with a spoon still has juice and a lot of aroma left, so use it for this preparation.
The method
The system is simple: leave it for three to six hours in a jug of water in the fridge – I have a two-litre jug for this, but a jar with a lid will also work – and then pass it through a fine metal strainer, a cheesecloth or a bag for filtering vegetable drink (even a piece of an old cotton shirt or t-shirt that can be washed only with water and neutral detergent).
If you have a lot of leftovers, you’ve put them all in and the flavour is too strong, you add more water and that’s it. It’s better not to overdo it with citrus fruits like lemon so they don’t taste bitter – ideal for adding the lemon you’ve squeezed to season your food and drink the water in the middle of the afternoon – and cucumber doesn’t make it bitter but it also transfers the flavour quickly, so they are perfect companions for water.
Four ideas to apply it
Tiger’s milk fresh water
Perfect for reusing leftovers from making ceviche: put the ginger peel, the squeezed limes and four to six sprigs of cilantro that you have left over in a jug, container or jar with two litres of water. Put it in the fridge and taste it after three hours, as these are very aromatic ingredients that transfer quickly to the water. If it is to your liking, remove the solids and put it back in the fridge. You can serve it as is or with a slice of lime and ginger.
Peach and mint fresh water
Put the skin of three peaches and about eight stalks of mint or spearmint, previously crushed or broken by hand, in a jug, container or jar with two litres of water. Put it in the fridge and taste it after four or five hours: if it is tasty, strain it through a cheesecloth or cloth and return it to the fridge (if not, wait an hour and taste it again). You can serve it as is or with a few mint leaves.
Fresh tea water with lemon and strawberries
Have you made yourself some iced tea and prepared a fruit salad with strawberries and lemon juice to survive the heat? Make use of the leftovers by putting the stems and the part that remains stuck to them of about 16 strawberries, a squeezed lemon and the tea grounds in a jug, Tupperware or jar with two litres of water. Stir it a couple of times and taste it after four hours – it will have taken on a slightly reddish colour due to the strawberries – and follow the same process as in the previous case. You can serve it as is or with some strawberry pieces.
Fresh cucumber, green apple and basil water
Cucumber and green apple make a refreshing combo that is perfect for salads and cold soups. If you have used it, put the peels (two apples and a cucumber are better, although one and one will also be fine) and about four stalks of basil branches previously crushed or broken by hand in a jug, container or jar with two liters of water. Repeat the same process as with the tiger’s milk water. You can serve it as is or with mint leaves and/or some cucumber slices.
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