AI-generated image
Refresco de cocona
Refresco de cocona: sour Amazonian cocona blended into a bright orange cooler
In Iquitos, Pucallpa and the river towns of Loreto, heat and humidity make a cold refresco part of every lunch, and cocona is one of the favourites sold from plastic jugs at the Belén market. The fruit looks like a fuzzy orange tomato and tastes between tomato, lemon and apricot: very sour, aromatic and juicy. Blended with water and sugar it makes a tangy, golden drink with a light pulp, served with juane or tacacho con cecina. The usual mistake is skipping the fuzz: cocona skin is covered in fine hairs that make the drink scratchy, so rub them off under running water before you start. Blend only briefly, too, so the many seeds do not crack. It is ready when the refresco is opaque orange, sour first and sweet after, with no grit. Outside the Amazon, look for frozen cocona pulp in Latin American shops; naranjilla (lulo) pulp is the closest substitute. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt makes the fruit taste sweeter and fruitier without more sugar.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the refresco
- 4 ripe cocona fruitabout 400 g; or 300 g frozen cocona or naranjilla (lulo) pulp
- 4 ¼ cups cold water
- 2 ⅞ oz sugaror to taste
- 1 pinch salt
To serve
- 10 ice cubes (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rub each 4 ripe cocona fruit under running water with your hands or a cloth until the fine fuzz has gone and the skin is shiny.
3 minStep 2: Quarter the fruit and put it in a blender with 400 ml of the 1 ¾ cups cold water.
2 minStep 3: Pulse for 10–15 seconds, just until the flesh breaks up; the seeds should stay whole.
1 minStep 4: Strain through a sieve into a jug, pressing the pulp so only seeds and skin stay behind.
2 minStep 6: Serve very cold over 10 ice cubes with lunch. It keeps a day in the fridge; stir before pouring.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 85 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 21 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does refresco de cocona take?
- About 10 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Guava delight
A thick, fragrant blend of ripe guava, mango and banana, boosted with a spoonful of guava powder from the health shop. The book calls it a modern-day vitality drink, drawing on guava's long use in traditional Indian medicine. Serve it well chilled; sieve it if you don't like the little guava seeds.
Power pack
A sweet, energising juice of apples, pears and kiwi fruit with a stick of celery, all used unpeeled for extra goodness. It's naturally sweet, so it needs no sugar. Serve well chilled.
Horchata de chufa
Horchata de chufa is the drink of Valencia's summer, sold ice-cold in the city's horchaterías with long, soft fartons pastries for dipping. It is made from chufas, or tiger nuts: small wrinkled tubers grown around the village of Alboraya just north of Valencia, which have their own protected designation of origin. Soaked, ground with water, strained and sweetened, they give a creamy, nutty, naturally dairy-free milk with a hint of cinnamon. Valencians drink it very cold, or half-frozen as 'granizada'. Chef's tip: soak the tiger nuts for a full 24 hours and change the water once; they must be plump and soft enough to blend into a fine pulp, or the horchata will be thin and taste of raw starch.
Spanish