Taquería-Style Pineapple Agua Fresca with Pineapple-Peel Syrup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A pitcher of pure blended pineapple and water — no thickeners, no juicer — sweetened with a quick syrup simmered from the peel and core so the whole fruit earns its keep. Lime and a pinch of salt sharpen the edges, and a fine-mesh strain gives you that clean, refreshing pour you get from the big glass barrels at a taquería. Best made the morning you drink it, served over crushed ice with a chile-lime salt rim if you want it.

Ingredients

• Reserved peel and core from the pineapple below
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 strip lime zest, removed with a peeler

• 1 ripe pineapple (about 3 1/2 to 4 lb), peel and core reserved for the syrup
• 6 cups cold water, divided
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 fresh mint leaves (optional)

• crushed or cubed ice
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 teaspoons chile-lime salt such as Tajín, for rimming glasses (optional)
• mint sprigs or thin pineapple wedges, for garnish

Instructions

1. Trim the pineapple: cut off the crown and base, stand it upright, and slice the skin away in wide strips from top to bottom. Quarter the peeled fruit lengthwise and cut out the fibrous center core from each quarter. Put the peel strips and cores in a saucepan; cut the flesh into rough 1-inch chunks (you should have about 6 cups) and refrigerate until needed.
2. Make the syrup: add the sugar, 1 cup water, and the lime zest strip to the saucepan with the peel and cores. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then reduce to a bare simmer and cook 10 minutes, pressing the peel down with a spoon once or twice. Strain into a heatproof jar, discard the solids, and let cool 15 minutes (or set the jar in an ice bath for 5 minutes). You'll have about 1 1/4 cups of fragrant syrup.
3. Blend the first batch: put half the pineapple chunks (about 3 cups) in a blender with 2 cups of the cold water. Blend on high for 60 seconds, until completely smooth and frothy. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large pitcher or bowl, stirring and pressing the pulp with a flexible spatula to push through all the liquid; discard the pulp left in the sieve.
4. Repeat with the remaining pineapple and 2 more cups cold water, plus the mint leaves if using, and strain into the same pitcher. Blending in two batches keeps the fruit moving freely and gives you noticeably more juice.
5. Stir in the remaining 2 cups cold water, the lime juice, the salt, and 3/4 cup of the pineapple-peel syrup. Taste: pineapples vary wildly, so add more syrup a tablespoon at a time for sweetness and more lime juice for lift until it tastes bright and just barely sweet — remember ice will dilute it in the glass.
6. Chill at least 1 hour, or until very cold. The agua fresca will separate as it sits, which is normal and correct; stir well with a long spoon right before every pour.
7. Serve: if you like, rub a lime wedge around the rims of tall glasses and dip them in chile-lime salt. Fill with crushed ice, pour the agua fresca over, and garnish with a mint sprig or a thin pineapple wedge. Pass extra lime wedges at the table.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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