Kitchen Tips Well Fed Quench Your Thirst Beautifully With Flavor-infused Water You'll have no problem staying hydrated when your water looks and tastes like a summertime treat. Here's what to know when you want to fancy up your H2O with fruits, vegetables, herbs, and more. By Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes with nearly two decades of experience helping home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. A self-taught cook who grew up reading cookbooks for fun, Vanessa lives and breathes the challenges faced by busy everyday cooks to get dinner on the table. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on July 21, 2022 Close The Super Soak Infusing water with the essence of fruits, herbs, and other botanicals helps you drink plenty of liquids without the downside of excess calories, sugars, and artificial flavorings. It's beneficial hydration in every refreshing sip. But before you get started making infused water, there are a few essentials you should know to make sure that fruit or herb infused water is as good — and good for you — as it can be. Photo by Vanessa Greaves. How to Make Infused Water: Ingredients Choose organic when you can. Wash produce and rinse herbs to remove chemicals, pesticides, and other residues. Water Use cold or room temperature filtered water (use a large pitcher or run it through a filtered water bottle). Hot water makes produce fall apart faster and can compromise the nutrients you're trying to coax out of the ingredients. Vessels It's okay to keep it simple; any glass or pitcher you already have will work. If you want to take infused water with you, consider purchasing an infusion water bottle so you can sip on the go. (But an insulated water bottle will also work in a pinch.) Preparation Tips: Softer fruits like citrus and strawberries can be sliced thick, thin, halved, or quartered. Harder fruits like apples should be sliced very thinly because they take longer to release flavors. Crush fibrous ginger root, rosemary, and lemongrass with a muddler or wooden spoon; tear or crush leafy herbs like mint, basil, and cilantro to release their oils. Loose herbs and flowers — lavender, rose petals, dried hibiscus — can be corralled in a tea infuser or cheesecloth. Infuse water at room temperature for no more than 2 hours. After that, put it in the fridge to prevent bacterial growth. Cucumbers, citrus fruits, melons, and mint flavor water almost immediately. Apples, cinnamon, fresh ginger root, and rosemary need an overnight soak in the fridge. Melons and sliced strawberries start looking waterlogged after a few hours; citrus, and whole berries still look fresh even after hours in the fridge. After 4 hours, citrus rinds can make water taste bitter. To make a big jug of infused water for a party, soak citrus for up to 4 hours, remove it, and add fresh slices for looks. (And keep that water icy cold for food safety.) If you don't drink the water within 24 hours, strain out the solids and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To keep sipping all day long, refill your infused water container when it's half full. It will be weaker than your first drink, but still full of flavor. Infused Water Flavor Combinations: Infused-Water3 Infographic. Try These Recipes: KGora Fruit-Flavored Water Cucumber Water Flavored Water Mint Citrus Water Apple Water Lemon, Ginger, and Cinnamon Flavored Water Related Content: Drinking Enough Water Every Day Is No Sweat With This Tasty Trick Ranch Water Is The Summer Refresher You Need Use Your Food Scraps For A Genius Healthy Hydration Trick Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit