Mango sparkling water, three ways
The unsweetened infusion, the syrup, and the ratio that makes the finished drink.
In season: April to August for Ataulfo and Alphonso, which are the two worth using. Tommy Atkins is on the shelf year round and tastes of very little.
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Infused, unsweetened
Use
2 cups ripe mango cut off the pit per 1 litre, and expect a weak result
Method
Mango is pulp and fibre with hardly any free juice, so cold water pulls out sweetness and almost no aroma. Sliced fruit in a jug gives cloudy, faintly sweet water. The version that tastes of mango is to blend 1 cup of flesh with 1 litre of water and push it through a sieve. That is a thinned puree, and it is what to make when someone asks for mango water.
Time
4 hours for the sliced version. 5 minutes for the blend and strain version.
Sparkling
Still water either way. The strained puree is thick enough to kill the fizz in anything it lands in, so build in the glass and pour the sparkling last, down the side.
Keeps
24 hours refrigerated. The puree separates within a few hours; shake it before pouring.
The syrup
Ratio
1 cup mango flesh : 1 cup sugar : 1 cup water
Method
Simmer 10 minutes until the flesh falls apart, steep off the heat 20 minutes, strain and let it drip through on its own. Pushing it through the sieve is what makes a muddy syrup.
Keeps
2 weeks refrigerated, 6 months frozen
Note
Throw the pit in the pan alongside the flesh. There is a layer of very good mango stuck to it that will not come off with a knife and does come off in hot syrup. Fish it out before straining.
The finished soda
1 part syrup to 4 parts sparkling water, over ice, half a lime squeezed in
Mango carries almost no acid of its own. The lime is the difference between mango soda and syrup water.
What doesn't work: Expecting sliced mango in a jug of water to taste like mango. It gives cloudy sweet water with a hint of the fruit, and people blame the result on buying an underripe one. The fibre is holding onto the flavour and cold water cannot get it out. Blend it or cook it.
Goes with: LimePassionfruitJalapenoMint