The Great Strawberry Debate {Agua de Fresa}

The six years that Hubby and I lived together in the United States, we had one recurring argument.

It happened every year during Strawberry season.

As soon as Hubby bit into the first strawberry of the season he would always say, "The strawberries in Mexico are better."

"The strawberries in Mexico are bigger."

"The strawberries in Mexico are sweeter."

He felt the same way about peaches too.

I didn't recall ever eating a strawberry in Mexico, so I had no idea if he was right or not.  But I felt it was my duty as a proud American to defend my country's strawberries.   

"You don't know what you're talking about!  The strawberries in the U.S. are sweet and delicious.  And well, we all know that size doesn't matter."

It was the same exact argument every time we bought strawberries.  It even became a running joke between one of my best friends from high school and me.

The first letter I received from my friend G, she asked me about the strawberries.  It was almost winter, so there were no strawberries in sight.  But I could not wait until Spring to find out once and for all, which strawberries were the best.

Hubby often argued that the strawberries in the U.S. weren't sweet at all and that he needed to sprinkle sugar on top to be able to eat them.

Well, imagine my surprise when I bit into my very first Mexican strawberry.

It wasn't anything like I expected.  I'll give Hubby this, the strawberries were big.  Very big.  But they didn't have the sweet strawberry aroma that I was used to and they weren't sweet at all.

Hubby was the first to bring out the sugar bowl. 

Now, I'm not saying that all of the strawberries in Mexico are awful.  The state of Irapuato is famous for it's strawberries.  I don't need to travel so far to find a good strawberry.  There is a little ranch community not far from where I live that grows organic strawberries.  They're not as big as the first strawberries I tasted, but they are deliciously sweet and smell absolutely delightful. 

No matter where your strawberries are from, they are always delicious in a tall glass of Agua de Fresa. 


Agua de Fresa

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds strawberries (stems removed)
• 12 to 15 cups water
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups sugar (depending on how sweet your strawberries are)

Directions:
Before you start, rinse the strawberries to remove any dirt.  Remove the stems if you haven't done so already.  Place the strawberries in a blender cup.  Fill the blender cup with enough water to cover strawberries.  Puree until smooth. 

Strain strawberry puree into a 4-quart pitcher.  Add enough water to fill the pitcher.  Sweeten the Agua de Fresa with sugar.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with or without ice.  Garnish the glass with a fresh strawberry.  Enjoy!!!

Yields 4 quarts



Linking up with Gooseberry Patch Strawberry Recipe Round-Up