Agua de Palmito Potosino

San Luis Potosí, the Altiplano potosino, is where this agua lives: the dry country north of the capital, around Matehuala, Charcas, and Venado, where May heat turns the road white and the market tables fill with plants that know how to survive without much water.

Agua de palmito is not a limeade wearing a regional name. It is the tender heart of yuca del semidesierto, peeled down to the pale core, blended with cold water and cane sugar until the drink turns ivory and faintly green. No chile. No herb. Not every Mexican drink has to shout. The Altiplano speaks in dryness, mineral sweetness, and restraint.

I first wrote this down from a señora near Mercado Hidalgo in San Luis Potosí, but she sent me back to ask the women from Matehuala because, she said, ellas sí saben cortar el palmito. She was right. The trick is the knife work before the blender: remove every fibrous outside layer, keep only the clean heart, and strain without making the drink thin.

This is picnic water for May, poured from a clay jarra into thick glasses with ice. The drink is pale, humble, and serious. Saber cocinar es saber vivir, even when all you're doing is choosing the right piece of palmito and knowing when to stop adding sugar.