Naturally Flavored Water

An easy formula for making your own quick, healthy fruit and herb infused waters in endless varieties.

By Monica Matheny

Say goodbye to soda, juice, and bottled water with these refreshing, healthy flavors! I'm keeping 2-3 flavors of this "spa water" in my fridge now, so I have a variety to motivate me to drink more water.

How to make

Naturally Flavored Water

Supplies Needed:

• fruit -- whatever kind you like (except no bananas); make sure it's good and ripe for maximum sweetness and flavor.  I like to use all kinds of citrus and berries. I also found pineapple and watermelon to work well for flavoring water. If you don't want to buy whole ones, many grocery stores sell small containers of pre-cut fruit.
• herbs -- these are optional, but many herbs are a surprising complement to fruit flavors; almost any herb will work depending on your personal preference
• jars or pitchers -- I use 2 quart mason jars primarily, but any 2 quart pitcher will do.
  fruit infusion pitcher--I recently purchased one of these--it's another option if you think you'll be making infused waters regularly; a very easy, tidy way to strain fruit from water.
  fruit infusion water bottle--I love using this for a portable, on-the-go option.
• muddler or wooden spoon for mashing fruit and herbs
• water -- I use filtered water, but regular tap water is fine if yours tastes good to you 

Fresh vs. frozen fruit. When in season, I prefer to use fresh fruit. However, when fruit is out of season, the fresh version can be tart or flavorless. Because fruit that is to be frozen is picked at the peak of ripeness, it is often the better option for the best flavor, sweetness, and nutrients. I find this to especially to be the case with berries and peaches.

A variety of fresh herbs. Use whatever herbs you like or happen to have on hand. I picked all of these from my herb garden and have tried them in flavored waters. It's surprising how well they blend with most fruit flavors, and they amp up the refreshing factor of the water. Mint is the most obvious herb choice. I also have tried basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, lavender, and tarragon. All good.

I'll share some of the fruit and herb combos that I've recently tried for flavoring water. But, honestly, you can combine most fruits and herbs according to your favorite flavors and what you have on hand in your fridge. I'll show you how to make 5 flavor combos. You can take it from there, creating endless flavor combos of your own.

Quantities: The quantities in my flavored water recipes are all for 2 quart jars or pitchers. However, I ran out of the 2 quart jars and used a few 1 quart jars, halving the recipe ingredients. So, don't be confused by the different jar sizes. It's easy to make a full or half batch depending on your jar or pitcher size.

The first 2 waters are

flavored with fruit only (no herbs)

WASH FRUIT THOROUGHLY! The citrus and berries need to be really, really clean to keep contaminants and bacteria out of your flavored water. I recommend organic fruit, if it isn't going to be peeled. 

1. All Citrus Flavored Water (adds refreshing tartness to water) -- slice 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon into rounds, then cut the rounds in half. Add to jar, press and twist with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon. Press enough to release some of the juices, but don't pulverize the fruit into pieces. Fill the jar with ice. Pour in water to the top. Stir it with the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick. Put a lid on it, put it in the fridge, and chill.

You can drink it right away, but the flavor intensifies if it's made an hour or two ahead. It's even better the next day. 24 hours later straight from the fridge, the ice still hasn't melted completely in mine. The ice at the top serves as a sieve so that you can pour the flavored water without getting fruit bits in your glass.

2. Raspberry Lime Flavored Water (beautiful color and mildly tart) -- Quarter 2 limes; with your hands, squeeze the juice into the jar, then throw in the squeezed lime quarters. Add raspberries. Press and twist with a muddler to release some of the juices (don't pulverize the fruit). Fill the jar with ice, then add water to the top. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.

The next 3 waters are

flavored with fruit and herb combos

3. Pineapple Mint Flavored Water (a hint of minty sweetness). Add a sprig of mint to the jar--you can throw in the whole sprig; or, remove the leaves from the sprig, if you prefer to have the mint swimming around and distributing in the jar. Muddle the mint--the goal is to bruise the leaves and release their flavor--don't pulverize them into bits. Add pineapple pieces, press and twist with the muddler to release juices. Add ice to the top and then water. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.

4. Blackberry Sage Flavored Water (subtle, refreshing flavor). Add sage leaves to jar and bruise with a muddler. Add blackberries; press and twist with muddler to release their juices. Fill jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and refrigerate.

5. Watermelon Rosemary Flavored Water (lovely flavor combo). Add a sprig of rosemary to jar and muddle gently (rosemary releases a strong flavor without much muddling). Add watermelon cubes; twist and press gently to release juices. Fill jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and refrigerate.

Here's the whole gang. It's hard to pick a favorite, because they all have a different, distinctive flavor. The all citrus and raspberry lime are both quite tart (and refreshing!), the watermelon rosemary and pineapple mint are the sweetest, and the blackberry sage has the mildest flavor (that may be because my out-of-season blackberries weren't very flavorful). I enjoyed all of these and love having a variety in my fridge. You can get creative and use this same simple method for combining all kinds of fruits and herbs. 

How long will they keep? Put a lid on them, put them in fridge, and they will keep for up to 3 days. It only takes a few minutes to make several varieties to keep on hand. No more boring water for me!

Pour a glass. When there's still ice left in the jar (my ice lasts up to 24 hours in the fridge), it will filter out the fruit/herb bits as you pour the water into a glass. After the ice melts, if you don't want to drink fruit bits along with the water, use a small wire strainer to remove them as you pour the water into your drinking glass.

Sweeten it up, if you must. If you have a sweet tooth and find these flavored waters undrinkable without some sweetener, go ahead and stir in some simple sugar syrup, honey, agave syrup, or whatever sweetener you prefer. 1 teaspoon of sugar only has 15 calories, so go ahead and add one to your glass. Given that a single can of soda or juice has the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar, you are still way better off drinking slightly sweetened water. If you are hooked on sweet tasting drinks and want to reduce or eliminate sugar or artificial sweeteners, you may need to wean yourself gradually. Unsweetened beverages are an acquired taste. I prefer them now, but it took me awhile to get there.

Great for entertaining! Flavored waters are very popular now, as more people are avoiding soda and juice. Make a variety of flavored waters to offer at your next party. Look how gorgeous they are! Refreshing, healthy, inexpensive, and beautiful. Plus you can make and refrigerate them well in advance of the party.

Let me know if you have other flavored water combos to recommend.
Make it Yummy day!

You might also enjoy my easy refrigerator iced teas:

Easy Refrigerator Iced Tea

Easy Flavored Iced Tea

Cinnamon & Spice Refrigerator Iced Tea

 

Easy Fruit & Herb Flavored Water

Servings: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• fruit -- 2 cups berries, citrus, melons, pineapple...most fruits will work (see recommended amounts in directions)
• herbs -- a sprig of mint, basil, sage, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, or lavender
• water (tap or filtered)
• ice

Directions

Supplies needed: 2 quart pitcher or jar with lid; muddler or wooden spoon

General formula for whatever fruit/herb combo you desire.
1. If using herbs, add a sprig of fresh herbs to jar/pitcher; press and twist with muddler or handle of wooden spoon to bruise leaves and release flavor; don't pulverize the herbs into bits.
2. Add approx. 2 cups of fruit to jar/pitcher; press and twist with muddler or handle of wooden spoon, just enough to release some of the juices
3. Fill jar/pitcher with ice cubes.
4. Add water to top of jar/pitcher.
5. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Suggested flavor combinations:
ALL CITRUS (no herbs) --  Slice 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon into rounds, then cut the rounds in half. Add to jar and proceed with muddling, add ice & water.
RASPBERRY LIME (no herbs)  -- Quarter 2 limes; with your hands, squeeze the juice into the jar, then throw in the squeezed lime quarters. Add 2 cups raspberries. Muddle, add ice & water.
PINEAPPLE MINT -- Add a sprig of mint to the jar (you can throw in the whole sprig; or, remove the leaves from the sprig, if you prefer to have the mint swimming around and distributing in the jar). Muddle the mint. Add 2 cups pineapple pieces, muddle, add ice & water.
BLACKBERRY SAGE -- Add sage sprig to jar and muddle. Add 2 cups blackberries; muddle, add ice & water.
WATERMELON ROSEMARY --  Add rosemary sprig to jar & muddle. Add 2 cups watermelon cubes; muddle, add ice and water.

Source:  http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Water