Kid-friendly Awesome Grapefruit Agua Fresca Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Awesome Grapefruit Agua Fresca

Recipe: Awesome Grapefruit Agua Fresca

Awesome Grapefruit Agua Fresca

by Erin Fletter
Photo by Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com
prep time
10 minutes
cook time
makes
4-6 servings

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

Equipment Checklist

  • Cutting board + kid-safe knife
  • Citrus juicer (optional)
  • Measuring spoons
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
scale
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Ingredients

Awesome Grapefruit Agua Fresca

  • 2 grapefruits
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 T sugar
  • 2 C cold water
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 small handful parsley leaves

Instructions

Awesome Grapefruit Agua Fresca

1.
slice + squeeze + measure

Slice 2 pink grapefruits and 1 lemon in halves. Squeeze to get all the juice out, then add it to a blender (no seeds!). Measure 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups cold water, 1 pinch of salt, and 1 small handful of parsley leaves and add to the blender.

2.
blend + pour + enjoy

Blend on high to purée the parsley, then pour into cups and enjoy!

Surprise Ingredient: Grapefruit!

back to recipe
Photo by Valentyn Volkov/Shutterstock.com

Hi! I'm Grapefruit!

"Grapefruits are one of the larger citrus fruits. You may have eaten us with breakfast or drank our juice. Did you know you can squeeze close to a cup of juice out of one grapefruit?! It may seem like pink grapefruits are sweeter but whether we are white, pink, or red, we have the same amount of sugar!"

History & Etymology

  • The grapefruit is a large, round citrus fruit that originated in Barbados, an island country in the Caribbean. It came about by accident as a natural hybrid of a sweet orange and a pomelo, the largest citrus fruit.
  • The story is told that Captain Shaddock (or Chaddock) brought pomelo seeds to the West Indies in the 17th century and grew that fruit. Then, sometime during the middle of the 1700s, the offspring of a natural cross between a pomelo and a sweet orange developed and became known initially as "forbidden fruit."
  • The word "grapefruit" was likely coined in the 1800s because the fruit tends to grow in clusters, similar to grapes (although much, much larger than grapes!).
  • China produces over half of the grapefruit in the world. Vietnam, the United States, and Mexico are the next biggest producers.
  • Florida grows the most grapefruit in the US, followed by California and Texas.
  • The Texas red grapefruit is the state fruit of Texas. 
  • February is National Grapefruit Month!

Anatomy

  • The grapefruit tree's scientific name is "Citrus × paradisi" (the × indicates it is a hybrid). It is a subtropical tree that grows 15 to 20 feet tall. The fruit grows in clusters. 
  • Grapefruit skin starts out green but turns yellow to yellow-orange when ripe. Grapefruit flesh has sections like lemons and oranges, and its color can be light yellow to red, depending on the variety. Its pulp contains a lot of juice. 

How to Pick, Buy, & Eat

  • When selecting grapefruit in the market, choose ones that are heavy for their size (juicy!) and have a uniform color. A white grapefruit's skin will be yellow, a pink grapefruit will be yellow-orange, and a red grapefruit will be orange. A more oval than round shape means the fruit is riper. 
  • Grapefruit can taste bitter due to a flavonoid called "naringin." The riper the grapefruit, the sweeter it is. Some people add sugar to lessen the bitterness, and others add a bit of salt. Avoid eating the pith, the white tissue lining the inside of the skin, as it is always bitter. 
  • Grapefruit and its juice are popular for breakfast. The fruit is often cut in half, and the flesh scooped out with a spoon. You can buy a special grapefruit spoon that is serrated on each side to help separate the sections.
  • Cooking grapefruit also lessens its bitterness. Sprinkling a little brown sugar on a grapefruit half and broiling it is a popular way to eat grapefruit.
  • You can add grapefruit sections to salads and its juice to vinaigrettes. You can also use grapefruit and its juice in desserts, entrees, and drinks.

Nutrition

  • According to the USDA, one-half of a grapefruit contains the total amount of vitamin C your body needs in one day! It also has six grams of fiber, making it one of the highest-fiber fruits. Pink and red grapefruit have more beta-carotene than white grapefruit. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant and changes to vitamin A in our bodies.
  • Grapefruit and grapefruit juice interact with some medications, so it is vital to check drug interactions for a particular medicine before ingesting grapefruit or grapefruit juice. It can also affect the absorption of certain medications.

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). 

Lettuce Joke Around

Why did the grapefruit stop rolling halfway up the hill?

Because it ran out of juice!

That's Berry Funny

What do you get when you cross a cat and a grapefruit? 

A sour puss.

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