It’s a well-known fact that water is the best beverage to consume. However, sometimes plain water can get boring and not provide the refreshment you need. Fruit-infused water is an easy way to keep your drinking experience exciting and unique each day.
Below you’ll find some tips for making your fruit-infused water taste great.
1. Fruit Preparation
Rinse the Fruit: Before you start adding your fruit to the water, it’s a good idea to rinse it off. It will help prevent staining and leave a fresher taste in your drink. If you’re using berries, you’ll want to rinse them thoroughly because they have more natural sugars than other fruits.
Peeling is Optional: If you want to remove the skin of your fruit, it’s perfectly OK to do so. But remember, most fruit skins contain many beneficial vitamins and minerals. Citrus fruits tend to be a little more bitter when peeled, so leaving their skin on will help to prevent this. Lemons and limes need the most skin removed since their zest contains more acid. If the fruit is bruised, it should be removed from your fruit infusion water.
2. Blender or Juicer?
Blender or Juicer: When making fruit-infused water, the type of blenders and juicers that you use will determine if your water has the right consistency. The larger the blender or juicer, the smoother your beverage will be. You can make fruit-infused water in a food processor as well. You’ll want to use a blender or juicer for a thicker consistency, but for a more “vinaigrette”-like consistency, you can achieve with a food processor.
3. Use Fresh Fruit
Fruit Should be Fresh: If the fruit you’re using is organic, it’s best to choose ripe fruit. If it’s not organic, all fruits should be washed clean before adding them to your water.
Fruit Should be Ripe: For the most flavor, use ripe fruit. Irradiated food and produce that has been picked too early may not make an excellent fruit-infused drink because it will not taste as fresh as the perfect fruit.
4. Add the Fruit to Your Water
Use a Strainer: To add your fruit to your water, you’ll want to use a filter or sieve instead of pouring the water directly into your container. Leaving your fruit in the original container will prevent the fruit from getting water spots while containing all of the pulp.
5. Dilute Your Fruit
Fruit should be diluted: If you want to add fruit to your water, but you want it to taste more like a juice, you’ll want to cut it with equal water. To do this, pour a little bit into your first container and mix it well. Pour a little in at a time until you reach the right consistency. You can also do the same thing with fruit puree, but you might have to add more water or fruit juice to wrap it all up.
Fruit should be diluted: Sometimes, when adding berries to your water, you may notice that the berries clump together and become hard to cut. To prevent this from happening, break open a big handful of berries and place them in the bottom of your container before adding any fresh fruits blended into your water. This might not work for every type of fruit, though.
6. Package Your Fruit
Packaging your fruit: If you’re using a container for your water, use a large container or plastic bag with a sealable lid. You want to try and get as much air out of the bag as possible because too much air will make your water taste watered down and stale. When you feel that your container is air-tight, pour your fruit infusion water into it. If you’re using a plastic container to store your flavored water, check the label to see if it’s safe for use with metal containers.
7. Time is Important
Be Patient: Some fruits have natural acids (like lemon and lime), so their flavor will infuse faster than other fruits. If you’re using a juicer or blender, the thicker fruits will immediately infuse, and thinner fruits will take longer. The more water you use, the less flavor will infuse into the water.
8. Refreshing Flavored Water
Refreshing Flavored Water: When making a fruit-infused drink, remember that you can add certain ingredients such as ice cubes or fresh mint leaves if you want to make it more refreshing. You could also add a little bit of sparkling mineral water or club soda to give it an extra kick. Adding cucumber slices will help create a more sweet and crisp flavor.
Conclusion
Fruit-infused water is easy to make, and it can be a great way to add more natural and organic fruit into your diet. It’s straightforward to blend up a delicious fruit-infused drink at the end of the day. Make sure you use the freshest fruits possible for this recipe and plan to have your fruit-infused water ready when you need it.