I am Chef Selena.

I'm the, chef and owner of the Belfry Collective here in the crossroads.

And today I'm going to be making you pop up Agua fresca.

Pawpaws.

This is perfect.

The Paw Paw is Missouri's state fruit.

And, these happen to come from the the Giving Grove orchard, a Kansas City community garden.

So, Papa, is this it's a little strange.

And I cut it open so you can see I kind of cut it open like an avocado.

This is like a banana and a guava crossed together.

I think.

It's all about papa today.

I have this pawpaw.

And I just have cold water.

let's just talk about agua frescas, originated with the Aztecs in Mexico.

It was just originally just muddling fruit and water together to stay hydrated and eventually, sugar cane was, and, added to it.

then, of course, people like adding lime and citrus to it because it balances the sweetness of the fruit.

You know what some people don't know.

I never really think about it either, but horchata is probably the most commonly known Agua Fresca.

So let's just make the agua fresca.

We're going to start with a Pawpaw.

I have lime juice because I like tart things.

So this is lime juice.

I have some agave, but you can use any sweetener because there's some acid in there and we want a flavor enhancer, this is just kosher salt.

But a little pinch of this is really going to enhance the pawpaw flavor.

And then I just have cold water.

It's just so it's nice and refreshing.

I'm not tall enough to see in the blender, We're going to fill this up.

Wait till you see that.

And then I garnish it with a little mint out of Evan's garden.

There you go.

I'm going to try it.

I'll go.

Fresca.

Here in Missouri, there are lots of fruits that are really great that you can't source and find in stores.

Things like choke berries, service berries, and persimmons, but you can always find them in spots like the giving Grove orchards.