Using Garden Produce
ByMerissa
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Looking for a delicious summer treat to quench your thirst without any added sugar? This Cherry Infused Water and these other Infused Water Recipes will be perfect! Use in-season fruits and herbs to make a tasty beverage.
Infused Water Recipes
Infused water can be an easy, delicious treat for summertime, especially when you are able to use fruits and herbs that you have on hand from your garden or things that are in season.
Infused Water recipesare a great substitute for juice or soda that are high in sugar. Infused water can come in many forms, from fruity to herb or even vegetable. Once you start experimenting, you will find a lot of items you grow in your garden make refreshing and nutrient-richdrinks.
They are fast to prepare but need time to set for them to become flavorful. Perfect for a summer treat, party, or just to have on hand for hydration with added benefits.
For personal servings, a quart size mason jar is a great container to use. If you are making for a larger group, iced tea jars are a better choice. Starting with room temperature or warm water will speed the infusion process. You can also set your prepared waters out in the sun for an hour or so to help the process, (I set ours out the bench on the southern side of our house) but remember to chill them well for about six hours to avoid a warmdrink!
Cherry Infused Water
What You Need:
- 1 quart canning jar
- 8 fresh cherries, halved
- 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves (Get even more Uses for Mint!)
What To Do:
Add the cherry halves and fresh mint leaves to your canning jar. Rip the leaves in half for more flavor. Next, use a spoon or a fork to gently mash the fruit down a little bit. This will let the juice out of the fruit to infuse your water. Fill the jar with water, place the cover on, give it a good shake and refrigerate overnight for the best flavor. If you want to drink straight from the jar you might want to check out Cuppow Lids. We love them for easy drinking and pouring from mason jars!
Double the recipe to fit in a larger pitcher.
Cucumber Mint Infused Water
Replace the cherries in the recipe above with a sliced cucumber and follow the same instructions above to make a Cucumber Mint Infused Water.
Strawberry Lemon Mint Infused Water
What You Need:
- 1/2 sliced lemon
- 3 sliced strawberries
- 10 mint leaves
What to Do:
Add the sliced lemon, strawberries, and fresh mint leaves to your canning jar. Rip the leaves in half for more flavor. Use a spoon or a fork to gently mash the strawberries down a little bit. This will let the juice out of the fruit to infuse your water. Fill the jar with water, place the cover on, give it a good shake and refrigerate overnight for the best flavor.
Orange-Black Tea-Basil Infused Water
What You Need:
- 1 Orange
- 1 Black Tea Bag
- 4-5 Fresh Basil Leaves
- 1 quart canning jar
What To Do:
Cut the rind from the outside of the orange, and slice it into three or four sections, add to your mason jar. Break basil leaves in half and add to jar. Place tea bag over the edge, leaving the tag out, then fill with warm water. Allow to sit in the sun or on the counter for about an hour to speed the infusion process, then chill for four to six hours in the refrigerator.
Infused Water Tips
You can speed the chilling process by adding ice, just remember that the ice will melt and dilute the infused water. You should be able to use the same ingredients for at least one refill of water before needing to replace them.
Use about half of the ingredients if you want to use an infused water bottle or double the ingredients if you are using an infused water pitcher or water infusing ball. For different amounts, remember that a quart is equal to 32 ounces and figure out your proportions.
If you ever feel the flavor in your infused water is too strong, simply dilute with additional cold water until the flavor is to your liking.
What to Do With The Leftover Fruit from Infused Water
Making Infused water is actually a great way to use up small amounts of fruits that you might have lying around in your kitchen. But in an effort to curb food waste, we also do not want to simply toss the fruit/herbs after infusing your water! Here are some ways you can use up the fruit scraps:
- Compost them
- Feed them to chickens or hogs
- Add them, along with other fruit into breads or muffins
- Add into a smoothie
- Puree with a bit of natural sweetener to make a sauce for pancakes
–Here is a great article on How to Use Up Food Scraps for more ideas!
Here are even more Infused Water recipes to spark your imagination the next time you are looking for a cool treat!
Which of these infused water recipes will you try first? What are your favorite infused water combos?
These Infused Water Recipes and Cherry Infused Water recipe was originally posted on Little House Living in July 2014. It has been updated as of July 2019.
