Create refreshing, light, low-calorie drinks by infusing fruit essence in water. While this concept is old, it’s often taken no further than squeezing a lemon or lime wedge over a glass of water. Impress your friends and treat your palette by expanding this concept to other fruits. Other citrus fruit, such as oranges and grapefruit, can be used. A personal favorite is mixing a squeeze of cara cara navel with lemon. Flavor can be drawn easily from a succulent fruit, such as watermelons. Flavor will need to be coaxed out of less succulent fruit, such as cherries, kiwis, and strawberries. One method to coax flavor from these fruits is to lightly bruise them before slicing them and adding the slices to water. Bruise the fruit by gently pressing down while rolling it across a board, until the fruit is soft and pliable. Then, slice the fruit and drop the slices into an empty glass. Cover the slices with ice and water and gently swirl or shake the mixture in the glass to coax more flavor from the fruit.
