Cantaloupe Agua Fresca (Melon Water)

Melon Agua Fresca is a delicious Mexican drink perfect for summer. It's light, refreshing and made by blending cantaloupe with water, your preferred sweetener, and a splash of lime juice.  

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? The same idea applies when you have a ton of cantaloupe—just whip up some cantaloupe agua fresca. This delicious Mexican drink is light and refreshing, made with fresh cantaloupe, water, sugar and a splash of fresh lime juice. Watermelon is my go-to summer fruit, but cantaloupe doesn't really make the list of one of my favoritses, howecver it is super delicious blened into a drink. 

This year, our melon patch is thriving with an abundance of cantaloupes. Typically, we harvest around five melons each summer, but this year, we've already picked six, and there are still twelve more growing on the vine, so we have been making cantaloupe agua fresca weekly. I don't mind though because it's so delicous and perfect for summer.  

When dealing with a bumper crop of garden cantaloupses it calls for quick thinking and finding ways to get them used before the melons go bad. That normally calls for quick preservation methods, and sharing with friends and family, however, since we stared making cantaloupe agua fresca, it has become harder and harder to share because it's so delicous. 

This year, I learned that cantaloupe can be frozen into chunks. Freezing cantaloupe is a fantastic way to extend its shelf life and enjoy it throughout the year. I'm so excited at the thought of making agua fresca, smoothies, popsicles, and even slushies when summer is far behind us. Since we can only eat so much cantaloupe at once, I am thrilled to have found this method. For freezing instructions see the notes section of the recipe card at the end of this post. 

Agua fresca is the perfect solution if you have a cantaloupe hanging around on your kitchen counter.  If you like watermelon, check out my recipe for Watermelon Agua Fresca.  

INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLES YOU'LL NEED: 

• 🍈 Cantaloupe:  peeled, seeds removed, and cut into chunks.(seeds can be saved to grow the following year). 
• 🌊 Water: Cold water (you can use filtered or tap water).
• 🍯 Sugar or Honey: my preference is cane sugar but honey can also be used.
• 🍋 Fresh Lime Juice: adds a bit of tartness, brightens flavors, and balances sweetness.
• 💚 Blender: to blend everything together. 
• 🧡 Strainer: cantaloupe has a lot of pulp so you will need a stainer to remove the pulp and make a smooth drink. 

To start, slice cantaloupe in half and scoop out seeds.

Chop the cantaloupe into cubes. 

Place it into the blender with 2 cups of water and a sweetener of your choice (sugar or honey). Blend the mixture until smooth. Taste the agua fresca and see if it is sweet enough. If your fruit is very sweet, you won’t have to add much sweetener.  

Pour the mixture through a coarse stainer to remove the pulp. I use my yogurt strainer and it seems to work really well.  

Add the strained mixter to a large pitcher, and add the remining 6 cups of water. 

Serve cold over ice. 

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