Kid-friendly Melon Agua Fresca Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Melon Agua Fresca

Recipe: Melon Agua Fresca

Melon Agua Fresca

by Erin Fletter
Photo by Nature1000/Shutterstock.com
prep time
7 minutes
cook time
makes
4-6 servings

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • blend :

    to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

  • chop :

    to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

  • knife skills :

    Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls)

  • squeeze :

    to firmly press or twist a food with fingers, hands, or a device to remove its liquid, like shredded potatoes, frozen and thawed spinach, or tofu.

Equipment Checklist

  • Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
  • Cutting board
  • Kid-safe knife
  • Citrus squeezer (optional)
  • Dry measuring cups
  • Liquid measuring cup
scale
1X
2X
3X
4X
5X
6X
7X

Ingredients

Melon Agua Fresca

  • 1 lime
  • 2 C cantaloupe, watermelon, or honeydew (about 1/4 to 1/2 melon)
  • 1 1/2 C sparkling or still water
  • 1/2 C sugar/honey/agave syrup (or 4 to 5 stevia packs)
  • 2 C ice

Instructions

Melon Agua Fresca

1.
slice + squeeze

Slice 1 lime in half and squeeze the juice into your blender (or pitcher for use with an immersion blender).

2.
chop + add

Chop and add 2 cups of cantaloupe (or other melon). Then add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups sparkling or still water.

3.
blend + adjust

Blend until smooth and adjust flavors until just right! Serve in cups over ice.

Surprise Ingredient: Melon!

back to recipe
Photo by Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz/Shutterstock.com
  • Melons originally came from Africa and southwestern Asia. Ancient Egyptians first cultivated melons around 2,000 BCE. After they grew in popularity in Europe, melons were introduced to America by Spanish settlers during the 15th and 16th centuries.
  • Melons are part of the Cucurbitaceae or gourd family. Their flesh is sweet and edible. The three melon varieties that you may be most familiar with are cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon. 
  • The flesh of a cantaloupe is orange, honeydew can be light green to green, and watermelon is usually red, although it can be yellow, orange, or white. 
  • Because the melon is from the same family as the cucumber, pumpkin, and squash and is harvested and cleared from fields like other vine-growing vegetables, it can be classified as a vegetable. However, the melon is botanically a fruit and technically a type of berry called a pepo.  
  • The size of a melon depends on its variety. The largest recorded watermelon was 262 pounds!
  • Watermelon is now the most consumed melon in the United States, followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.
  • Scientists have created cube-shaped melons! Packaging and transporting this type of melon require less effort than rounded kinds of melon. However, cube-shaped melons are far more expensive than conventional melons.
  • Melons have high nutritional value as they are a rich source of vitamin C and B vitamins and minerals such as potassium, manganese, iron, and phosphorus.

What are Aguas Frescas?

Photo by Guajillo studio/Shutterstock.com (horchata, Jamaica, and tamarind aguas frescas)
  • "Agua fresca" is Spanish for "fresh or cool water." Aguas frescas are refreshing beverages from Mexico made with fruit, water, lime juice, and a little sweetener if needed. One or more fruits can be used, including cantaloupe, cucumber, guava, honeydew, pineapple, strawberries, tamarind, and watermelon.
  • The fruit, water, lime juice, and sweetener are blended together. Some people prefer their agua fresca filtered by straining it after blending, and others like to have the fruit pulp for added fiber. 
  • A couple of Mexican drinks considered aguas frescas that do not use fruit are the "horchata," made by steeping rice and cinnamon in water, and the "agua fresca de Jamaica," which uses hibiscus flowers.
  • Sweeter fruits, like watermelon, do not require sugar. Watermelon also may not need as much water, if any, since it has so much of its own!

Let's Learn About Mexico!

Photo by Alena Darmel
  • Officially, Mexico's name is "The United Mexican States." It is one of several countries and territories in North America, including Canada and the United States of America.
  • Spanish is Mexico's national language, and Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexican people didn't always speak Spanish, though. For thousands of years, Native Americans lived there and built great cities. The people had advanced language, education, and calendar systems, and they had very clever ways of raising food. Mexico is also the country with the largest number of native American speakers in North America. 
  • The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. Mexican legend says that Aztec leaders were told to build their great city of Tenochtitlan at the site where they saw an eagle sitting on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak. That image is in the center of Mexico's flag. The Aztecs built their city on an island in the middle of a lake. The ruins of Tenochtitlan are at the center of Mexico City and still sit on top of a lake! As water is pumped out to serve the needs of the city's growing population, the city has been sinking at a rate of 6 to 8 inches per year.  
  • Indigenous Mexican people included the Aztecs in the central interior of the country, the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula, and the Zapotec of the south. Spanish explorers landed in Mexico in the early 1500s, and they ruled Mexico for over 300 years. During this time of colonization, Mexico's Mesoamerican civilizations mixed with European culture.
  • Before the arrival of Spaniards, native Mexican food primarily consisted of corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and herbs. Indigenous people occasionally hunted and added wild turkey, rabbit, deer, and quail to their largely vegetarian diets. Native royalty sipped chocolate drinks. Europeans introduced cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, sugarcane, and wheat to Mexico upon their arrival. 
  • Mexican cuisine uses chili peppers to give it its distinct flavor. Jalapeños, poblanos, and serrano peppers are commonly used in Mexican dishes. Dishes that include mole, a sauce made of dark chocolate, chili peppers, cinnamon, and other spices, may be served on special occasions, such as Día de los Muertos. 

What is it like to be a kid in Mexico?

  • Mexican children may live near the ocean or the gulf, in the desert, or in the mountains. 
  • Kids often live with extended family, including grandparents. Their full names include their father's and their mother's.
  • Most kids speak Spanish, but Mexico also recognizes 68 native languages. 
  • They attend school from September through June. Large schools have two shifts—one group in the morning and one in the afternoon. Students are usually required to wear uniforms. 
  • They may play soccer, baseball, and other sports. Jumping rope and other outdoor games are very popular. They might play a game similar to bingo called Lotería. It is played with picture cards and songs. 
  • Corn tortillas are a staple for kids, along with beans and rice. Dishes that include mole, a sauce often made of dark chocolate, chili peppers, cinnamon, and other spices, may be served on special occasions. 
  • A popular family holiday is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a celebration to remember and honor a family's ancestors. Family members decorate the graves of their relatives who have passed on. Typical foods served for this holiday include empanadas, tamales, pan de muertos (a sweet bread in which a ring with a tiny plastic skeleton is hidden), and calaveras de azucar (sugar candy skulls). 

That's Berry Funny

When do you go at red and stop at green? 

When you’re eating a watermelon!

The Yolk's On You

A watermelon proposed to its sweetheart: “Honeydew, wanna get married?”

“Oh yes,” she replied, “but we cantaloupe!”

That's Berry Funny

What did the rice say to the watermelon? 

"Don’t be a slow-POKE!"

That's Berry Funny

What did the one melon say to the other melon when they fell in love? 

We’re just too young ... we cantaloupe!

That's Berry Funny

Why did the cantaloupe jump into the water?

Because it wanted to be a watermelon!

THYME for a Laugh

How do you make a cantaloupe shake? 

Put it into the freezer until it shivers.

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