Seeking a recipe for Hint fruit-infused water

February 9, 2010 6:35 AM

I normally don't like to buy/drink bottled water because of the waste and expense, but I really like the taste of Hint water, and I'm supposed to drink lots of water because I am pregnant. Does anyone know of a similar home recipe? Is it as simple as mixing fruit essence oils with water?
posted by sfgeeklady to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

Essential oils, no matter how pure and organic, are NOT meant to be ingested. If you would like to flavor water without adding calories, you could steep it with mint leaves (as if making tea, then let the water cool), by adding lemon, lime or orange juice, or by adding a small amount of other fruit juice (yes, this will add a few calories).
"Natural" flavors are still chemically created.
posted by noxetlux at 7:01 AM on February 9, 2010

Sodastream sells flavor essences that are the kind of thing you're looking for. They're alcohol suspensions, I believe.
posted by mkultra at 7:01 AM on February 9, 2010

The dining hall at my institution has several large 30 gallon canisters of ice water, each of which contains 2-3 cups of sliced fruit floating in it. This is enough to provide a delicious hint of flavor. Some of the better flavors are orange cantaloupe, cucumber mint, and strawberry. It is by no means sweet, just interesting.

I've made this at home with a 2-qt pitcher of water and 1/2 cup of fruit floating in it. If you don't like fruit bits in your glass, you can wrap the fruit in cheesecloth.
posted by reverend cuttle at 7:02 AM on February 9, 2010 [10 favorites]

There are also flavoring extracts available in the spice section of grocery stores (in the U.S. at least) that you could use. You probably only need a tiny amount if you're flavoring water.
posted by corey flood at 7:20 AM on February 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

I did what reverend cuttle did for a while, before deciding it was easier to just squirt some bottled lemon juice into my water than to remember to buy and cut up fruit. :) Pregnancy-related bonus -- I found the lemon flavor in the water really helped with my nausea (which went on for basically the entire pregnancy). Lime is good too, though I didn't want it when I was pregnant ever.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:29 AM on February 9, 2010

I would consider it very risky to use essential oils, perfuming ingredients as food flavourings especially during pregnancy.

Essential oils are made by concentrating plan compounds in alcohol (they're not oils at all, generally). Plants have a lot of chemical defenses and hormonal signaling compounds which can be concentrated in the fragrance. Many of these could be dangerous to you, and particularly to the child you carry. Many plants compounds have very bad affects on developing embryos that the mother could survive. Historically, teas several common flowers and flavour were used as abortifacients: pennyroyal, rue, nutmeg and even papaya. On that list you post, even at first glance I can see some oils I would not want anyone to consume: geranium, tea tree for example. Both of those contain chemicals that would/could be poisonous.

In short, stick to ingredients that are traditionally sold as foods. Many botanicals smell really nice but aren't at all safe to consume, particularly during pregnancy.
posted by bonehead at 7:52 AM on February 9, 2010

Never tried Hint, but I like to spike water with some fruit juice.
posted by sageleaf at 10:11 AM on February 9, 2010

Or stick a tea bag in your water. It will flavor it in about 3 minutes.
posted by Vaike at 11:07 AM on February 9, 2010

Thirding reverend cuttle -- when I'm feeling fancy I keep a bowl of cucumber slices in the fridge and pop a couple in my water glass whenever I refill it. I would imagine slices of lemon, lime, apple, orange, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc., would work just as well. Berries would probably have to be sliced first so that some of the juice can leak out.
posted by pluckemin at 12:23 PM on February 9, 2010

In New York, many restaurants put a thin (1/8") slice of lemon in each glass of ice water, or half a dozen in a pitcher. I love it. Keep a lemon in a plastic bag in the fridge and slice a little as necessary. Limes are cheaper and also work well.

Don't use bottled juice. The difference is obvious even at extreme dilution.
posted by KRS at 12:57 PM on February 9, 2010

Some cooking extract in water can be nice. I've tried lemon, orange and almond extracts and they are all good. I do not know if that is like Hint.
posted by Vulpyne at 1:58 PM on February 9, 2010

Here's what I do to add some flavor to my water.

I buy 5lb bags of lemons at Costco (but there's no reason any other citrus or other fruits or cucumber wouldn't work), dump them out into a sink full of soapy water and give them a light scrub and then a rinse.

I then quarter them lengthwise and lay them out on a cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer. Once they're fully frozen I drop them into a gallon ziploc bag and put them back in the freezer. Then I can simply grab one and drop it in a glass of water.
posted by phearlez at 7:17 PM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]