Fruit pulp refreshment
If I had to choose between very hot weather and very cold weather, I would choose the heat. Just as well really, because it can get very hot here in summer and the winters are mild. I’m no masochist, I don’t enjoy being too hot, but sometimes it’s worth it for the pleasure of cooling down – think beach/waterfall or less glamorous options air conditioning/cold shower.
And the heat has clearly shaped the drinks culture here – red wine is commonly served chilled (even in an ice bucket sometimes!) and of course beer must extremely cold. Another chilly drink that I enjoy making home starts out looking like this:
A frozen block of fruit pulp from the Cacau fruit.
Now I have to confess I’m a little fearful that I’m singing the merits of something that is commonplace throughout the world with the exception of UK. But I’ve only seen them here, so to me they are a Brazilian thing and anyway, they’re great regardless of their availability.
What I’m talking about here are frozen fruit pulps. Most supermarkets here include a little basket of these frozen fruit blocks in the corner of the freezer section. I often find it tricky to choose – abacaxi (pineapple), cacau (cocoa fruit), morango (strawberry), caju (cashew fruit), açaí (erm, açai), cupuaçu (ditto) to name just a few.
These little packs don’t have any added sugar – just pure frozen fruit pulp. When you are ready for a delicious, refreshing drink, you simply cut the pack into 4:
Cut the block into four.
Put the pieces into the blender along with 200ml of water, some sugar and, if you want it extra cold, a few ice cubes:
Put them in the blender with some water and a little sugar. I’m not that into sweet things, but these do generally need at least a little sugar.
If you’re feeling a bit naughty then you can add a little something extra:
If you’re a booze-snob then you’ll be scoffing at this and saying “Smirnoff?! I’d use Absolut or Ketel One”. Well I’m not made of money and this does the job just fine!
And finally it is ready to drink. Cacau is one of my favourites – it has a subtle, refreshing flavour which is perfect for a summer cooler like this.
I couldn’t resist adding a few slices of Lime (Tahitian) and bingo! One refreshing drink is ready to go!
Do you have frozen fruit pulps like this in your country? If you don’t (and even if you do!) I should also tell you about this amazing recipe for a Watermelon, Basil and Chilli cooler from The Mistress of Spices blog. It takes a bit more time/effort, but is totally delicious and refreshing. I made it for a party once and about 5 people asked me for the recipe. Perfect for a balmy summer afternoon.
Wow, the Watermelon and Basil one sounds really good and refreshing actually!! And I’ve never had Cacau fruit, but its on my list.
Now, about the heat. Is Rio really THAT hot? I get the feeling that the heat of the place is a little over-exaggerated in general (you didn’t over exaggerate it, but many people do…) because out of all the Brazilians (including Cariocas) I’ve met that live here or who have visited here during the summer, all of them say they’ve never felt such disgusting heat like we have here in beautiful and scenic New Jersey. We hit 100F (38C) a few days ago and the humidity made the heat index more like 110-115F. (45 ish C) It’s common to have week after week of temperatures like that here. What the hottest temps you’ve experienced in Rio?
The watermelon one is totally amazing when it (the weather) is hot. Seriously, so many people at that party were coming up to me and asking about it, I felt like some kind of domestic god
dess.As for heat, I guess it depends on your frame of reference. I generally find it a very comfortable heat, even when it’s very hot (hmmm, is this making sense?). The thing that kills me is humidity, and usually the humidity here is quite low. It’s what I would call a ‘dry heat’. I know I know, it gets waaaay hotter in other places, but that doesn’t stop high high 30s / low 40s being fairly scorchio… ;)
I should add, if you’re down with 45 for weeks on end you’ll find Rio a (cool refreshing) breeze.
Tom, you are a goddess.
OK good, I’ll bring a sweater to Rio with me. Thanks for the moral support.
=D
Genius!
Aw, thanks for the shout out for my watermelon drink! So glad to know that you had such success with it, and it reminds me that I need to make it again. It would be great to beat the heat here in Thailand! I only wish we had frozen fruit pulp here too…the cashew one in particular sounds so interesting and delicious. And with the vodka…saude!
Hi there! Yes, I can imagine it would be perfect for Thailand. And I can vouch that it too goes very well with a drop of vodka! :D
Tom, how did you get that green color in the lime photo? It looks amazing!
Ah, those are special radioactive limes imported from Chernobyl Andrew! Either that or I introduced some not so subtle green bias to the image ;)