I drink a lot of water, but in the summertime, flavored waters hold a certain appeal to me. Yet, I know they are not all natural and many have artificial sweeteners. So, when I came across suggestions for various all-natural, flavored waters recently, I decided to give it a go.
To me, the watermelon looked most appealing for its sweetness. While I used rosemary this time, I think I will try spearmint the next time. The rosemary was wonderful, however. I did not muddle it, as the original instructions called for, as rosemary is a rather potent herb and could be overwhelming. A small sprig floating is the water will provide a hint of flavor after a couple hours of steeping. If you prefer a more pronounced herb flavor, crush the leaves a bit. Muddling it with the fruit will bring out the strongest flavor. All that said, you could omit the herbs entirely and go with all fruit.
I estimated the amount of fruit and mashed the first 3/4 cups or so and added the second 3/4 cups as small chunks. I sort of like having cold melon pieces to eat as I drink–reminiscent of sangria! Mash all the melon if you prefer.
Here is a link to the original recipe at The Yummy Life and my version below. Other flavor options include blackberry sage, all citrus, and pineapple mint.
By the way, when my 10-year-old first sipped this drink, he mentioned, somewhat disappointed, that it wasn’t sweet. Based on the color, I think he expected Kool-Aid. When I explained the concept, he thought about it then asked for a refill. It’s all about managing expectations!
- 1 1/2 quarts water
- 1 1/2 cups cubed watermelon
- 1 sprig rosemary
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Place half the watermelon in a pitcher and mash well. Add the remaining watermelon and the rosemary, then fill with 1 1/2 quarts of cold water.
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Refrigerate up to 3 days and enjoy!
- If you wanted an even sweeter drink–like a lemonade–you could add some simple syrup. Hmmm…that’s making me think that watermelon lemonade would be quite tasty, too!
Sounds so refreshing and your photo is beautiful!
So pretty for summer! Looks very light and refreshing.
Thank you…this is very refreshing. I love the cold watermelon chunks: )
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