We all know how important it is to drink water, but if you’re getting bored with the plain taste of water, you need to give fruit-infused water a try!
Adding fruit to water infuses the drink with gentle, sweet flavors. It turns water into an incredibly refreshing drink. You’ll keep on reaching for more, which isn’t a bad thing if you’re trying to improve your water intake!
If you’re interested in trying fruit-infused water for yourself, you’ll learn how to make it in this post. We’ll cover the supplies you’ll need, helpful preparation tips, and some tasty fruit examples that you can try out at home.
If you want to try tasty fruit-infused water for yourself, keep reading!
Fruit Infused Water: All You Need To Know
Fruit-infused water is great for staying hydrated during the day, but you’ll also receive health benefits from the antioxidants within the fruit.
This homemade water is a lot better than flavored water from the store, as it’s much lower in sugar and calories.
Things You Will Need To Make Infused Water
Infused water may seem complicated, but it’s very easy to put together! All you need are three things:
- Your ingredients, like fruits, herbs, or vegetables
- Water, either plain or sparkling, depending on your preferences
- Glass container – don’t use plastic as this can affect the water’s taste
You’ll need to be prepared, as making infused water takes a while. The solution needs to be left aside to let the fruit juices seep into the drink. Four hours will be fine if you’re infusing at room temperature, but if you’re leaving the drink overnight, it’s best to keep it in the refrigerator.
Your Choice of Fruit
Infusion water favors some fruits over others. In most cases, softer fruits are better, as they free their scent and flavors quicker. Examples include strawberries, blackberries, citrus fruits, kiwis, watermelon, and pineapple.
Citrus fruits are tasty, but fruits like oranges and lemons have strong flavors, so you shouldn’t leave them in your water for too long.
These fruits can also leave residual matter behind in your container, but this is easy to remove. All you need to do is add hot water and dish soap to the bottle. Leave it to work on the residue, then clean it with a bottle brush.
You can use harder fruits if you prefer, but these will take longer to infuse their flavors into the liquid. You can speed up the procedure by squeezing the fruits before adding them. Examples include apples, red currants, blueberries, and figs.
Hard fruits are best for those that prefer gentle fruit flavors, but softer fruits are best for obtaining particularly juicy water.
You can add whatever fruits you like, though a mix of sour and sweet fruits is often preferred, like lime, strawberry, and mint.
Condiment Choices
Once you’ve settled on your fruits, you can start choosing the condiments. Most fruits pair well with common herbs, like basil, mint, lemon balm, and rosemary. Herbs are great for giving the water a special touch, as they taste great with a variety of fruits.
You can also go for different condiments, like cloves or cinnamon. These are especially good around the holidays, as they give the water a special festive feel. Cloves, cinnamon, and orange sound particularly Christmassy!
Spice fans can add some ginger for a little kick, as it’s also known for its health benefits. Rose petals are great for adding a luxurious touch, as well as lavender and honeysuckle.
Another recommendation is cucumber. This common vegetable may not seem like much, but it can update your infusion with intense refreshing notes. Lemon, mint, and cucumber water are a particularly tasty combination.
Infused Water Preparation Tips
Here are some tips to help you make tasty infused water every single time.
Use A Quality Bottle
A quality container is very important when making infused water. Chucking all of the ingredients into a bottle and letting them soak sounds easy enough, but you’ll have to spend time scooping out the wet fruits from the bottom when you’re done.
It’s best to use a pitcher or a large jar. The wide opening will make it easier to remove the fruit afterward, and you can add as little or as much ice as you need.
Infusion Time Affects The Taste
The fruits you plan on using will affect your infusion time. For instance, citrus fruits, like oranges and lemons, will need two to three hours. However, less potent fruits, like blackberries and kiwis, will need to be left overnight.
Remember that your water will taste more intense the longer the ingredients remain in the water. Softer fruits will require less infusion time, while harder ones need more.
Room Temperature Or Icy
Many people love infused water for its refreshing feel, which is why it’s often enjoyed cold. Despite this, some fruits and herbs only release their flavors when the water is at room temperature.
In the end, it doesn’t matter what temperature you drink your water at. If you like cold water, add more ice, but if you don’t, take your water out of the fridge before drinking it.
Things To Do With Remaining Soaked Ingredients
One last question you may have is what to do with the mushy ingredients after making the recipe.
Most fruits will lose their nutritional value and taste after infusing, but you can still use them to make other dishes.
Soft fruits, like raspberries and strawberries, are great to make a jam or a smoothie. Apple slices are perfect for making apple-flavored bakes, like pies, while herbs can be used to make a flavorful tea.
How To Make Fruit-Infused Water
Now that you know some more about fruit-infused water, it’s time to make it yourself!
Follow these steps to do so:
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
First, make sure you have all of your supplies handy. These are:
- Ice
- Eight cups of water
- Choice of fruit
- Sugar
- Glass jar or pitcher
- Long wooden spoon
Step 2: Choose An Ingredient Combination
Next, decide what combination of fruits you’ll be using. You can use any that you like, but here are some common examples:
- Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, one cup each
- A bunch of mint, half a cucumber, and a cup of pineapple chunks
- Tangerine, lemon, and orange, one each cut into wedges
Step 3: Fill Your Pitcher
Fill your pitcher or large jar with ice, then add the fruit next.
Step 4: Pour In Water
Fill the pitcher with water, then use your wooden spoon to mix the ingredients.
Step 5: Sweetener
If you want to make the water sweet, add sugar or sweetener as desired. Make sure you stir it well to dissolve everything.
Step 6: Refrigerating
Leave the pitcher in the refrigerator for an hour. When you’re ready to serve, pour into glasses and add more ice as needed.
How Long Will Fruit-Infused Water Last?
Infused water can last up to three days in the refrigerator, but this may vary depending on your chosen ingredients.
If you plan on keeping it over 24 hours, ensure that you remove the fruit from the water. This will stop the fruit from spoiling and prevent the water from tasting bad.
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to make fruit-infused water! You’ll never have to buy fruity water at the store again, as you can make your low-calorie and low-sugar version at home.
Make sure you go over our infusing water tips above to ensure your concoction tastes amazing. Remember, harder fruits like blueberries may take longer to release their juices, while softer ones, like raspberries, can result in very juicy water.
We hope you have fun making your infused water and coming up with new flavor combinations!
Fruit-Infused Water Recipe
Keep hydrated while giving your taste buds a treat with this fruit-infused water recipe!
- Preparation time: five minutes
- Chilling time: one hour
- Total time: one hour and five minutes
You Will Need
- Water: eight cups
- Ice
- Fruit – examples are shown below
- Sugar/sweetener: optional
Ingredient Combination One: Summer Berries
- Strawberries: one cup, sliced
- Raspberries: one cup
- Blueberries: one cup
Ingredient Combination Two: Refreshing Mint
- Pineapple chunks: one cup
- Mint leaves: one bunch
- Cucumber: half of one
Ingredient Combination Three: Juicy Citrus
- Lemon: one,
- Tangerine: one, cut into wedges
- Orange: one, cut into wedges
- Lemon/orange juice: optional, to taste
Directions
- Fill a pitcher or large jar with fruit, with space for the fruit.
- Choose one of the fruit blends above, or decide on a different combination. Add the fruit to the pitcher.
- Fill the pitcher with water, then stir the fruit and water with a wooden spoon.
- If you want sweeter water, add sugar or stevia as desired. Stir the contents thoroughly until it dissolves.
- Leave the pitcher to chill for an hour in the fridge. Pour into glasses to serve and top with additional ice.
- What To Serve With Potato Soup - June 28, 2023
- How Long Does Soup Stay Fresh In The Fridge? The Ultimate Storage Guide - June 24, 2023
- How To Thicken Soup - June 24, 2023