As temperatures soar in the UAE and the rest of the region during Ramadan, it is important to remember the importance of staying hydrated. Infused waters are a delicious way to add nutrients from fruits, vegetables and herbs, and you can tailor-make these for your family. Here are a few things to remember for best results:

• Always use a glass container for best purity of flavor: it can be a large dispenser, a glass pitcher, or mason jars.
• A good ratio for a delicate, yet interesting enough flavor is 1 cup of fruit and 1 to 2 springs of herbs for every 2 liters of water. If you prefer a more intense flavor, simply add more to suit your taste.
• Cut hard fruits into thin slices to get the most flavor. Soft fruits can be cut thin or thick, chunks, halved, or quartered as they tend to release the flavor much faster.
• Leafy herbs such as basil and mint should be torn or crushed to release their oils.
• Fibrous herbs and roots such as ginger, rosemary, or lemongrass can be crushed with a muddler or a wooden spoon for the juices and oils to be released.
• If you use loose herbs or flowers (lavender, rose petals, put them in a cheesecloth or a tea infuser so that they don’t end up floating all over the drink.
• Infuse the fruit, veggies and herbs between 30 minutes and 2 hours at room temperature for best flavor, but afterwards do keep them in the fridge to avoid bacterial growth.
• When infusing citrus with the rind on, remove the fruit after 4 hours to avoid the water turning bitter. If you are planning to refill, replace with new fruit.
• The ingredients that flavor the water fastest and therefore require the least infusion time, are citrus, pear, watermelon, cucumber, melon and mint.
• The ingredients that need the most infusion time (overnight) are the hardest: rosemary, apples, cinnamon and ginger.
• You will notice that the some fruits will become waterlogged and will start to break down quite fast (normally soft fruits). So you can either replace with fresh bits of fruit or remove altogether.
• If you are not drinking the infused water within 24 hours, remove the fruits and keep refrigerated, consuming it within 3 days.

Images source: www.evermine.com/blog/saturday-sips-flavored-waters/
(Written by: Marissa Garcia-Olm Fletcher)
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