Give Your Go-To Sangria A Hydration Boost With Fresh Watermelon
Few drinks are as refreshing as an ice-cold glass of sangria on a hot summer afternoon. Mixing the wine spritzer-like treat with fresh fruit makes for a relaxing comedown from a sun-baked day. The possibilities of sangria mix-ins are seemingly endless, but watermelon is a great choice if you want to provide an extra dose of hydration to your alcoholic beverage. We're not claiming that it will stop a hangover, but it certainly won't hurt.
Strawberries, apples, and citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are usually what you'll find inside typical sangrias. However, there is seemingly an infinite number of variations of the drink (looking at you, spicy sangria), and the addition of watermelon makes for a fun and unique option. Most fruits generally have a water content of around 80%, but watermelon is especially hydrating. It's a big pink globe of nutrients that's over 90% water. According to Healthline, watermelon contains heavy doses of vitamin C and the antioxidant known as lycopene. Whether you want a healthy addition, or you just love watermelon and wine, putting this summery fruit into your drink is a fab idea.
Mixing watermelon with sangria
Sangria recipes usually call for a pitcher filled with either red or white wine (red is traditional, but white is perfect for the summertime) and a pile of fruit. A watermelon sangria, however, presents an opportunity to make your sangria both delicious and aesthetically impressive. First, blend and strain the watermelon to get some delicious juice — or don't strain, and have a thicker drink with a little texture! You can also freeze some watermelon cubes to use as ice to keep the drink cool (and have a boozy snack at the end of each glass).
Next comes the really fun part. As is common with watermelon-themed cocktails, you can scoop and carve all that juicy flesh out of the inside of the rind and leave an empty shell behind. You can probably guess what comes next. Simply pour and mix your sangria concoction inside your new watermelon keg, and you have a delightful summer spin on a typical punch bowl. Add some fruit rinds as cocktail glasses, and you'll really have a tropical time.
More ways to hydrate your cocktail
You can make your sangria even more hydrating with the incorporation of other fresh and fruity ingredients. Watermelon luckily already has potassium and magnesium, but coconut water is another hydrating addition to a sangria thanks to its electrolytes. Pineapple juice is a refreshing choice that provides manganese, a rarer nutrient that works with vitamin K to keep blood healthy. Seltzer is just as hydrating as water and will also give your sangria a fizzy, sparkly bite without feeling like your sangria is watered down by, well, water.
Especially during warmer weather, it's important to offset some of the dehydrating effects of alcohol with the additional ingredients. The joy of making sangria is the sheer variety of different combinations of fruits, juices, and bubbly bevies you can mix and match — while the joy of using watermelon is discovering the sheer variety of food and drinks it pairs perfectly with.