Paletas anyone?

Just as the thermometer needle starts working its way up this summer I always have a craving for a Mexican “agua de sabor” (fruit juice translated “water with flavor”) or frozen “paleta” (popsicle). Mexicans love to drink a refreshing fruit juice at any time or bite into a frozen popsicle made of natural fruits. There are several traditional shops such as the Michoacana where you can buy them in Mexico City. They also usually sell nieves (sorbet) or ice cream (helado), but for me the paletas are the best.

Each season features different fruits. I especially love the tropical fruits Mexico produces. Summer brings mango, lychee (did you know the chinese railroad workers brought them to Mexico?), grapes, guava, watermelon, melon and guanabana (sour sop). Guanavana is one of my favorites. It’s green outside, opens up to a soft white skin embedded with large brown seeds (which are not to be eaten). It’s taste is sweet almost like honey with a slightly acid taste. It’s almost like combining in one fruit the flavors of strawberry, banana and a dash of coconut. It is a hassle to spit out the seeds, but I used to love doing it when I was a kid.

How about making your own Mexican paletas at home? It is very easy.

Ingredients

2 cups of your favorite fruit
1/2 cup of sugar or sweetener
1 cup of water

1) Put into your food processor or blender 2 cups of your favorite fruit (making sure there are chunks in your mixture) and some water. If you do not like seeds, you can strain the mixture (but I like to make my paletas without straining so that I can get all the benefits of the fiber in the fruit). Also if you are making guanabana paletas, you should skip this step and just mix everything by hand to avoid breaking the seeds since they can add a sour taste.
2) Sweeten the mixture to taste. I usually add 1/2 cup of sugar or a sweetener such as Splenda.
3) Add the remaining water to the mixture.
3) Put it into special popsicle molds, or use some small plastic cups. If you are using cups, put the cups in the freezer on a tray and insert the popsicle stick when they are partially frozen.

I also love making grown-up paletas with flavors such as mojito or margarita, freezing the cocktail recipe.