Cucumber Water

In our home, the leftovers from chopping cucumber for salad are often thrown in a Mason jar or water pitcher. Anywhere from an hour to a couple of days in the fridge (at least a few hours is best) creates a more-refreshing-than-water, too-easy beverage. Even a few measly pieces of cucumber in a big pitcher will perfume the whole thing. If you want to fancy it up, the mint and lime are nice, but the water never really gets minty in the same way it gets cucumber-y. I’d just as soon skip the mint, or add it to each glass. It’s really all about the cucumber! We make this a LOT in summertime. We have tons of mint growing and putting it in the water hours ahead of serving never seems to make it minty, at the most it just tastes kinda “green.” The cucumber though, MUST be added ahead for its taste to permeate the water, no matter the amount of cuke or time. We haven’t squeezed lime into this concoction but I can see the appeal. We have actually made huge carafes of this for wedding and baby showers by infusing tons of cucumber flavor into a smallish amount of water (like 1/2 cuke diced small in a 3-quart Mason jar stashed in the fridge for 24 hours) and then using it almost as a concentrate. It’s easier to transport this way and then we just dump it over ice and top it off with bottled water to fill decorative glass carafes. Slices of fresh cuke are added just for visual appeal (it’s already way aromatic) and a handful of fresh mint for color (it never really gets minty). Guests love it and its so simple.

To make this, I used 1/2 washed organic cucumber, semi-peeled with pretty stripes along the side, and 2 big sprigs of mint. I cut the cucumber into slices and put those and the mint into a 32-ounce pitcher and filled it with filtered water. I allowed this to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before dinner. We found this to be very refreshing and a nice addition to our meal. This is also very nice in the summer as a refreshing drink. I think if someone is looking to increase their daily water consumption this is a good way to go. I have also made this with orange or lime slices along with the mint and that’s very tasty, too.

I’m a terrible hydrator so anything I can do to entice myself to hydrate better is a step in the right direction. Here’s a huge step forward for me! I could drink this refreshing infusion regularly, maybe daily, over a long period of time.

I purchased my cucumber at the farmers market and it was not of the English variety, which did in fact work just fine, as noted in the list of ingredients. I also used a beautiful bunch of organic mint and a nice, pure, clean Scandinavian spring water. I loved the addition of lime and not only garnished with a wedge, but gave it a good squeeze as well. I tasted and continued to sip the water from the one-hour through to the four- hour refrigeration period, and it was well-infused at the one-hour mark; I’m not certain how much of a difference the extra hours of infusion made. It did not taste appreciably different to me.

The only thing I would change is to make the ice optional. I grew up with a strong preference for no ice, stemming from parents who felt the same. I’ve never understood the appeal of a cup of ice with almost no beverage in it, and with a beverage this appealing, why dilute it with ice?  Otherwise, it’s perfect as is.