Reclaim the taste of fruits
The other day I offered homemade mango and guava drinks (made separately) to some teenagers visiting my home. They took a sip of each and politely refused the rest saying that they did not like it. I asked what about the drinks they did not like. All three of them, with some hesitation, responded that the flavours were too intense. In other words, the mango drink tasted like mango and the guava drink tasted like guava.
Their taste of mango and guava as well as other fruits is determined by the juices they get out of boxes, packets, cartons, bottles and cans. Tasting the real thing was not only new to their palettes but it did not “measure up” to their established taste of fruit drinks. This made me sad. In a previous column on a similar subject, I had said that I am not knocking anyone’s choice. However, just so that we do not lose our sense of taste for fruits or the opportunity to introduce these flavours to a younger generation, let’s challenge ourselves this July-August holidays and reclaim the taste of fruits. Let’s stock up on what’s seasonal, wherever you are, and turn the fruits into various types of drinks including smoothies, slushies, sorbets, popsicles, icicles or our locally termed flutees - ice blocks.
Reclaiming the taste of fruits is not just for children but adults too. Join in the fun.
Fruit, water and sugar is all you need. A squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice in some drinks balances out the flavour. And here’s the thing about sugar and the sweetening of drinks - I highly recommend that you make simple syrup - a mixture of an equal amount (volume) of water and sugar