Make Strawberry Water

When it’s hot outside, it’s important to stay hydrated. You’ve most likely heard the healthy recommendation to drink eight glasses of water a day. Sometimes, though, you’re craving something a bit more fun than a tall glass of plain water. When that craving strikes, make a batch of this delicious strawberry water. It’s a sweet and refreshing drink that is simple to make and delicious to drink!

Ingredients

  • Ripe strawberries
  • Sugar to taste (optional)
  • Cold water
  • Half of a lemon

Steps

Mashing the Strawberries

  1. Wash and hull your strawberries. “Hulling” basically means removing the core of the strawberry and the green leaves at the top. This is done instead of simply chopping the top of, because it allows you to remove the leaves at the top (which you surely don't want floating in your strawberry water) without wasting any of the delicious berry.[1] The easiest way to do this is to use a regular drinking straw.[2]
    • Position your straw at the bottom of the strawberry.
    • Gently push the straw into the strawberry, so that it goes straight through the center.
    • Continue pushing until the straw comes out the other side, with the core and leaves inside the straw.
    • If you don't want to waste the strawberry cores or the drinking straw, you can just cut the leaves off your strawberries.
  2. Put the hulled strawberries in your pitcher. After you’re sure all of the cores and leaves have been removed, put them into the empty pitcher.[3] It’s best to use something with a wide brim, because you will be inserting a spoon to mash the strawberries.
    • You can create this recipe in a drinking glass as well. If you want to make your strawberry water by the glass, simply halve or quarter this recipe.
  3. Crush the strawberries. Using a wooden spoon or another utensil with a flat surface, muddle the strawberries.[3] with a wooden spoon. Muddling means to smash the fruit in order to release their juices and intensify the flavor of your strawberry water.[4] You don’t need to completely obliterate the berries, but make sure they’re all decently mashed to the bottom of your glass.
  4. Add sugar, if you want extra sweetness. If you’re trying to keep this recipe super health-conscious, you can skip this step and rely on the natural sugar of the berries. You can, however, add a bit of your own sugar to amp up the sweetness. Simply sprinkle or pour your sugar over the crushed berries, and then stir or mash it all together.
    • If you’re not sure if you should add sugar, first try making this recipe without this step. Then, you can add sugar to the finished glass of strawberry water if you desire.

Finishing and Chilling the Drink

  1. Pour your water over the berries. You can use tap water, filtered water, or even sparkling water – whatever water you enjoy drinking. Fill up the pitcher completely. You can give it a quick taste test at this point. The strawberries will continue to infuse into the water as it sits.
  2. Add lemon juice. This step is optional, but it can add another dimension to your strawberry water. Cut a lemon in half. Place one hand over the cut half, while squeezing the lemon with the other. Let the juice run through your hands into the pitcher, while catching the seeds with your cupped hand.
  3. Chill in the refrigerator. Let your concoction chill overnight to get the maximum flavor out of the berries.[3] If you don’t have time to let it sit overnight, feel free to drink as soon as it’s chilled. Serve your drink with ice cubes.
    • If you used sparkling water in your recipe, you should serve immediately so that the water doesn't lose it's fizz in the refrigerator.
    • You can also get creative and garnish your drink with sliced strawberries, sliced lemons, a sprig of mint, or even a yummy sugar rim!

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

You may like