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Two large jars of aguas frescas in a Mexican taqueria in Seattle, Washington, USA. On the left is a jar of Agua de Flor de Jamaica, and on the right is a jar of horchata. Restaurant employees serve the drinks by ladling them from the jars into glasses.

Ades, punches, fruit drinks and other non-alcoholic flavored coolers, known as aguas frescas (Spanish: fresh waters) in some parts of Latin America, are a combination of either fruits, cereals, or seeds with sugar and water, blended to make a beverage. Aguas frescas are popular in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. Some of the more popular flavors include tamarind drink (made with tamarind pods), agua de Flor de Jamaica (made with Hibiscus), and agua de horchata (usually made with rice and cinnamon).

In Mexico, the beverage is often sold by street vendors, but in many cases, fine Mexican restaurants will have a good selection of aguas frescas available.

There is some confusion in terms internationally between the drinks referred to here and bottled soft drinks. In Guatemala and Nicaragua, these are referred to as frescos, short for refresco, which in Mexico means soft drinks. Soft drinks in Guatemala are called aguas, short for aguas gaseosas, but easily confused with the Mexican aguas frescas.

Another type of agua fresca, popular on Caribbean islands like the Dominican Republic, is made with oatmeal and a citrus juice.

It may be made with other ingredients, mainly with liquefied fruits.

In Mexico and Central America, it is common to find aguas frescas in these flavors:

• Sweet fruits
  • Canteloupe
  • Guava
  • Mammee apple
  • Mango
  • Melon
  • Marañón, using pulp of the cashew apple
  • Papaya
  • Passion fruit
  • Soursop
  • Tuna, the Mexican prickly pear
  • Watermelon
• Sour fruits:
  • Cucumber
  • Lemon (squeezing with a juicer)
  • Lime
  • Orange (squeezing with a juicer)
  • Pineapple
  • Tamarind
  • Strawberry
• With seeds or flowers
  • Chía, often blended with vegetables
  • Hibiscus tea, also called Jamaica or sorrel, a sometimes sugared cold drink made from the flowers of the hibiscus plant, popular also in Jamaica and West Africa
  • Horchata, which is made with walnuts, barley, or chufa (the root of Cyperus esculentus), and in Mexico is made often of rice, rarely of oats, and scented with vanilla
  • Alfalfa, blending fresh alfalfa leaves with water
  • Cebada, using the grains of barley

Growing in popularity[link]

Ades, Punch (drink), Fruit Drinks, coolers, and sodas, also known as aguas frescas when (typically) not carbonated, are increasing in popularity.^{[citation needed]} Lemonade stands have become the iconic traditional business for young entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada^{[citation needed]}. Similarly brands such as Crush (beverage) and other soda waters and non-carbonated beverages such as Tang (drink) and Kool-Aid are iconic in American culture. In recent times, adult street vendor immigrants in the United States selling aguas frescas are often seen in states with Latin-American influence, such as can be seen in Miami from Cuban and South American influence, New York from Puerto Rican and Dominican influence, and the American Southwest under Mexican influence. Aguas frescas is the Mexican name for fruit, seed and starch flavored coolers. While the term originally was defined as home-prepared water-based refreshments, the commercial availability in Latin America of instant flavor mixes has broadened the usage of the meaning of aguas frescas in that region.

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Most Mexican restaurants serve the beverage by ladling the drink out of a jug into glasses.^{[citation needed]} They can also be found in supermarkets in ready-to-drink bottled versions, or in cartons from the dairy case, and in dried mixes similar to Kool-Aid. Companies sell the aguas frescas drink in many flavors; mango, pineapple, orange, watermelon, tangerine, tamarind, cantaloupe, guava, lime and hibiscus are among the favorites.^{[citation needed][1]} These are made of several basic, all natural ingredients typically including fruit, seeds, flowers, water, and sugar.^[2]

Companies like Kern's, Canita, Klass, and Maria Elena's create and manufacture aguas frescas. Kern's manufactures and distributes Aguas Frescas in three different flavors: Hibiscus cooler, Limeade, and Tamarind drink. They also have Horchata in a refrigerated half gallon and a 32oz Tetra carton. Cañita comes in two flavors, Hibiscus and Tamarind. Klass sells it in a mix that requires water and/or sugar to be added. They come in a variety of different flavors such as: lemonade, strawberry, guava, Hibiscus, horchata, mango, cantaloupe, tamarind, orange, pineapple, and watermelon. María Elena also sells their product in a mix, but they promote organic and 100% natural aguas frescas. The only flavor this company sells is horchata.

References[link]

See also[link]

• Licuados
• Paletas

Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953)^[1] is an American chef who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is perhaps best known for his PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time.

Bayless was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of restaurateurs and grocers specializing in the local barbecue. Having begun his culinary training as a youth, he broadened his interests to include regional Mexican cooking as an undergraduate student of Spanish and Latin American culture. After finishing his undergraduate education at the University of Oklahoma, he did doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics at the University of Michigan and, from 1980 to 1986, lived in Mexico with his wife, Deann, writing his first book Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking From The Heart of Mexico.^[2]

Bayless is the younger brother of sports journalist and television personality Skip Bayless.

Professional Career[link]

After hosting the 26-part PBS television series Cooking Mexican in 1978-1979, Bayless dedicated over six years to culinary research in Mexico, culminating in 1987 with the publication of his Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, which Craig Claiborne described as "the greatest contribution to the Mexican table imaginable." Chef Bayless continues to host his PBS television series, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, now entering Season 8, produced entirely on the Baja peninsula.

Before opening his own restaurant, Rick began his professional career in 1980 as the executive chef at Lopez, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Rick trained a staff of 10, and established the tradition of Lopez, which still remains the premier Mexican/Southwestern restaurant in Ohio.^{[citation needed]} In 1987, Bayless, along with his wife, Deann, opened the Frontera Grill in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in contemporary regional Mexican cuisine. In 1989 they opened Topolobampo, one of America's first fine-dining Mexican restaurants.

In 1995, he and partners started the successful Frontera Foods line of prepared food products.

He was one of the founding members of Chefs Collaborative, in support of environmentally sound agricultural practices and is active in Share Our Strength, the nation's largest hunger advocacy organization.

Bayless is a restaurant consultant and teaches authentic Mexican cooking throughout the United States. He is a visiting staff member at the Culinary Institute of America and leads cooking and cultural tours to Mexico.

Bayless has written several cookbooks on the subject of traditional Mexican fare, including the best-selling Mexico: One Plate at a Time. He has also contributed to a number of magazines.

Bayless and his staff also began the Frontera Farmer Foundation^[3] in 2003. This foundation was set up to support Chicago-area local farmers by offering capital improvement grants. As of 2007^[update], more than $400,000 has been given to local family farms.

In 2005, Bayless competed on Iron Chef America and lost by one point to Iron Chef Bobby Flay on what was the first broadcast episode of season 1, with American bison meat as the secret ingredient.

In December 2007, Bayless opened Frontera Fresco restaurant in San Francisco.^[4]

Bayless appeared as a guest judge in episode 3 of Season 4's Top Chef, judging both the quickfire and elimination challenges. He later went on to become a contestant in episode 3 of the first season of Top Chef Masters, winning that episode and advancing to the Champion's round. In the championship round he won the title of Top Chef Master on August 19, 2009.

He is the brother of ESPN personality and sports journalist Skip Bayless. In 2008, he was widely considered to be a serious contender for the position of White House Executive Chef under the administration of Barack Obama.^[5]

In 2010, after having spent significant time at local Mexican dining spots, Bayless made his LA debut running the kitchen at the Red O.^[6]

Bayless was guest chef for the May 19, 2010 White House state dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderón and his wife Margarita Zavala.^[7][8][9]

In 2012, Bayless ventured into the world of theatre, partnering with Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, IL to put on the play, "Rick Bayless in Cascabel", which Bayless created along with Tony Hernandez and Heidi Stillman. The show opened on March 21, 2012 and will run through April 29.^[10][11]

Also in 2012, Rick Bayless secured his first ever Day Time Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host for his work on Season 8 of Mexico: One Plate at a Time.

Current Restaurants[link]

• Frontera Grill (Chicago, IL)
• Topolobampo (Chicago, IL)
• XOCO (Chicago, IL)
• Frontera Fresco (Chicago, IL; Skokie, IL; San Francisco, CA)
• Tortas Frontera (O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL)
• Red O (Los Angeles, CA)

Awards and Accolades[link]

• Best New Chef of 1988, Food and Wine magazine
• Best American Chef: Midwest 1991, James Beard Foundation
• National Chef of the Year 1995, James Beard Foundation
• Chef of the Year 1995, International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)
• Cookbook of the Year, 1996, IACP, for Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen
• Cookbook of the Year, 1996, National Julia Child Cookbook Awards, for Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen
• Cookbook of the Year, 1996, Chicago Tribune, for Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen
• Humanitarian of the year 1998, James Beard Foundation
• Cookbook of the Year in 2001, James Beard Foundation, for Mexico: One Plate at a Time
• Best Chef Midwest (CHICAGO) of 2002, James Beard Foundation
• Who's Who of American Food and Drink
• Humanitarian of the Year IACP 2007
• Frontera Grill won Outstanding Restaurant from the James Beard Foundation 2007
• Winner, Top Chef Masters Season 1 on Bravo Cable Network, September 2009
• Recipient, 2011 Golden Beet Award from The Illinois Stewardship Alliance, in the category "Community Food Projects," for his work with the Frontera Farmer Foundation and for his support of local and sustainable agriculture.^[12]
• Frontera Grill was ranked the third-best casual dining restaurant in the world by the International Herald Tribune^[13]

Bibliography[link]

• Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico (1987)
• Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine (1996)
• Salsas That Cook : Using Classic Salsas To Enliven Our Favorite Dishes (1998)
• Mexico: One Plate at a Time (book) (2000)
• Mexico: One Plate at a Time (television series) (2003–present)
• Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures (2004)
• Mexican Everyday (2005)
• Fiesta at Rick's: Fabulous Food for Great Times with Friends (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Rick Bayless Site