Agua de Garambullo de la Sierra Gorda

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large tray for sorting the fruit
• •Wooden spoon for crushing
• •Blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer or manta de cielo
• •Clay jarra or glass pitcher

Instructions

1. 1

   Sort the fruit

   Spread the garambullo berries on a tray. Pull out stems, shriveled berries, bits of cactus skin, and anything that does not belong in the pitcher. Rinse the fruit in a bowl of cold water, lift it out with your hands, and drain it well. Do not soak it. Garambullo is small and delicate, and if you bruise it before its time, you lose the clean cactus-fruit flavor.

2. 2

   Macerate with sugar

   Put the drained garambullo in a bowl with the cane sugar and the pinch of salt. Crush lightly with a wooden spoon until the berries begin to split and a dark purple syrup gathers at the bottom. Let it sit for 10 minutes. The sugar should pull juice from the fruit, not bury it. This is an agua fresca, not candy.

   If the berries are very sweet, stay with 1/4 cup sugar. If they are sharp from an early harvest, add more after straining, one tablespoon at a time.
3. 3

   Blend briefly

   Transfer the macerated fruit and all its syrup to a blender. Add 3 cups of the cold water. Blend on medium for 15 to 20 seconds, just until the skins break and the water turns deep purple. No me vengas con atajos, but also do not punish the fruit. If you grind the seeds too hard, the drink turns sandy and bitter.

4. 4

   Strain the agua

   Set a fine-mesh strainer, or a strainer lined with manta de cielo, over a pitcher. Pour in the blended garambullo and press gently with a spoon. Rinse the blender with the remaining 3 cups cold water and pour that through the strainer too. Press enough to get the color and juice. Stop before you force the seed grit through.

5. 5

   Balance and chill

   Taste the agua. It should be lightly sweet, earthy, and tart at the edges, with that deep purple color staining the spoon. Add more sugar if the fruit demands it. Add the limón criollo only if the flavor feels dull. Chill for 30 minutes so the drink settles and the color deepens.

6. 6

   Serve cold

   Stir the pitcher before serving because the fine pulp settles. Pour over ice in simple glasses or cantaritos de barro. Serve it outside, with the jarra on the table and the basket of fruit nearby if you have it. There are no chiles here. Not all Mexican food needs to announce itself with heat. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy garambullo in season, usually late June through July in the Sierra Gorda and the Querétaro semidesert. The berries should be deep purple, taut, and clean-smelling. If they smell fermented, leave them for someone else.
• •Do not replace garambullo with blueberries and call it the same drink. Blueberries give color, not cactus fruit. If you cannot find garambullo, make agua de tuna roja or agua de jamaica until the market gives you the right fruit.
• •Blend briefly. The seeds are tiny, but they make the agua gritty if you grind them too long. The women at the market know this without measuring seconds. You will learn it by paying attention.
• •Sweeten lightly. A good agua fresca refreshes. It should not coat your mouth with sugar.

Advance Preparation

• •The garambullo can be picked over, rinsed, dried, and refrigerated one day ahead in a covered container lined with a clean towel.
• •The finished agua can be made up to 4 hours ahead and kept cold. Stir before serving because the fine fruit pulp settles.
• •Fresh garambullo freezes well in a single layer on a tray, then packed into bags. The finished agua does not freeze cleanly. Make the drink the day you serve it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)