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Strawberry Loquat Nectar
Fresh Loquats
A Recipe For a Homemade Loquat Drink
Loquats are a juicy, bright-yellow fruit with a sweet, mild taste. They can be eaten fresh off the tree, but they also shine when paired with strawberries in a sweet, homemade fruit nectar.
Finding loquats may be difficult if you don't grow your own, but once you have located a supply of fresh loquats, making fruit nectar is a relatively simple process with a large payoff.
This recipe makes enough to fill a large pitcher with fresh strawberry loquat nectar. That's enough to give about 16 people a cup-sized taste.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of smoothly pureed strawberries
- 1 1/2 cups of smoothly pureed loquats
- 1 cup of sugar plus 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 gallon of water (that's 16 cups)
- 1 tablespoon of Meyer lemon juice
Kitchen Equipment
- Blender
- Strainer
- Measuring cups
- Stew pot
- Stirring spoon
- Serving pitcher
What To Do
- Finely puree the strawberries and the loquats in a blender.
- Strain the strawberries seeds out of the puree.
- Pour the fruit into the stew pot and add sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the water.
- Boil the mixture for five minutes, then chill.
- Combine the concentrated fruit mixture with the rest of the gallon of water.
- Serve the fruit nectar chilled; ice cubes are optional.
More About Loquats
Ways To Use Loquats
- Loquat-Loganberry Pie
Growing up in California, loquats and loganberries were two familiar backyard edibles. Combined, they make a juicy, unusual pie filling. - How To Make Loquat-Loganberry Pie
Growing up in California, loquats and loganberries were two familiar backyard edibles. Combined, they make a juicy, unusual pie filling. - Loquat-Loganberry Pie
Growing up in California, loquats and loganberries were two familiar backyard edibles. Combined, they make a juicy, unusual pie filling. - Loquat-Loganberry Pie
Growing up in California, loquats and loganberries were two familiar backyard edibles. Combined, they make a juicy, unusual pie filling.
Loquats
In texture and in the yellow-white color of its flesh, the loquat is reminiscent of a pear. But loquats are much softer and juicier. Loquats have a rounded, egg-like shape, and they are slightly larger than kumquats, but smaller than plums.
Loquats were first grown in China but have since spread around the world. In the United States, they've ended up as backyard trees in parts of the South and in California. They are rarely sold in conventional grocery stores.
How To Prepare a Loquat
To prepare a loquat for use in fruit nectar, the seeds and skin need to be removed.
The skin of a loquat is very thin and peels away easily, but it rarely comes off all in one piece. (This can make preparing a large number of loquats a tedious process.)
To remove the large, smooth, hazelnut-shaped seeds from the heart of the fruit, cut the loquat in half lengthwise and pluck out the seeds and the tough, surrounding membranes.
Try using any leftover loquats in a loquat-berry pie.
More Recipes For Cool, Summer Drinks
- Watermelon Water
Biting into a slice of chilled watermelon is one of the most refreshing pleasures possible on a searingly hot summer day. But you can top that sensation with this easy, icy, blended drink. It's called watermelon water. - Homemade Iced Minty Limeade
One way to survive searingly hot summer days: copious quantities of iced minty limeade. The slushy bits of ice cool. The fresh mint numbs. - Homemade Lemonade With Meyer Lemons
Lemonade made with Meyer lemons is a mild yet memorable drink. Squeeze the juice out these lemons, and you'll discover that Meyer lemonade is much less bitingly sour and acidic than conventional lemonade.
More Refreshing Summer Treats With Fruit
- How To Make Kiwi Lime Sorbet
Kiwi fruit makes an unusual, but tasty, sorbet ingredient. This sorbet recipe combines ripe kiwi fruit and fresh lime juice into a unique, homemade frozen dessert. - How To Make Homemade Raspberry Sorbet
Looking for the perfect summer dessert? Fresh raspberry sorbet is quick and easy to make at home, and it's also delicious. - How To Make Blueberry Sorbet
Freeze blueberries and bananas together in a homemade sorbet, and the result is a sweet, smooth scoop in the prettiest shade of pale lavender. - How To Make Strawberry Sorbet
Making strawberry sorbet is surprisingly quick and easy, and the homemade product tastes of summer simplicity and sweet, strawberry goodness. All that's required: berries, sugar, water, citrus juice and an ice cream maker. - How to Make Homemade Mango Sorbet
Mango sorbet is amazingly quick and easy to make at home. Only three ingredients. Only three steps: Blend, freeze and eat. - Homemade Honey Peach Sorbet
Nothing is more summery than fresh peaches, and nothing is more welcome on a hot, sultry day than a bowl of homemade honey peach sorbet.