Something to drink: melon juice from Peru

Once upon a time I lived in Washington DC surrounded by people from all over the world. We liked to cook together, go to the beach together, go dancing together and a few more things. When we went to the beach, our Peruvian member, Elba, brought melon juice in a giant vacuum bottle. That’s how I learned that melon was edible, or even good. Before that, the smell put me off so badly I couldn’t bear to eat it. I shan’t mention what I thought it smelled like, because maybe you like the way it smells.

It is hot here today, just the kind of day when Elba made melon juice. I have half a melon left from one Amelia gave me. This is the melon juice when it was just made.

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This is 32 seconds later.

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It is simply the most thirst quenching thing in the world.

Melon Juice for .75 liter

1/2 ripe melon (cantalope, honeydew, etc.) peeled, seeded and cubed
juice of one lemon
sugar to taste– I used 3-4 tablespoons, and it will depend on your lemon, you see
.5 liter cold water
a little milk

I used my stick blender, but any blender will do. Put the melon in a blending container and whiz it until it is smooth. Add the lemon juice and then the water and whiz it again. Add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and mix, and then taste. Add and mix until it tastes exactly right to you. Mix in a few drops of milk, not more than a tablespoon. I don’t know why the milk makes it more thirst quenching, but it does. This drink has lots of mineral salts in it that are very helpful when you are sweating a lot and believe me, it tastes a lot better than those sports drinks!

This won’t have many calories, since melon is almost free of them. It’s delicious, says she who hated melon all her life. It is almost serendipitous that melons abound and are cheap just when you need them.

If you don’t try this easy and healthy summer treat, then you are really missing something very special.