I don’t normally order a fruit drink or shake at restaurants. I am addicted to Diet Coke or on occasion, a San Miguel Light. But as soon as we sat down at Myron’s, Mon Eugenio suggested we try their black plum or white or red grape shakes, so we did. Our table of 5 ordered two black/red plum, 2 red grape and 1 white grape shakes. The plum shakes were excellent, with terrific color, bursting with flavor and just right sweetness. The grape shakes were less intense, but delicious nonetheless. And if you don’t like much added sugar, ask them to serve it on the side (though it’s harder to mix into the slush). I can see myself consuming several of these shakes at the beach or for merienda with some torta…
Back home, I decided to experiment and made my own plum and red grape shakes. 
They turned out pretty good and they were incredibly easy to do. For the plum shake, buy ripe red or black plums (the latter tend to be bigger and juicier and possibly bolder flavor) and leave them on the kitchen counter until they are at the peak of ripeness/juiciness. Peel a plum and remove the seed and chop coarsely, with skins and pulp. Put it in a blender with some sugared water, ice and a bit of cold water and blitz away. A few tries will get you the preferred proportions and sweetness. Serve immediately and drink while the ice melts. I did the same with red grapes and the drink was also good, though the “aphudness†or “mapaklaness†(what is that in English???) of the grape skins made this less favored by those seeking pure sweetness. I liked it a lot. Try it with green grapes and instead of sugared water, add white grape juice as the sweetener. These are great drinks to have for a brunch or in between meals. With some fruit, water and just a little sugar they are delicious, filling, refreshing and relatively healthy!
10 Responses
How about this for “mapakla”?
tart with a hint of the fruit’s sap?
A good weekend to you, MM!
These look really good. We make similar slushie style drinks using ice, sugar syrup and juices etc. We started out with elderflower and then a lingonberry slushie. These were inspired for a Svensk Fest we held a year ago (my fiance is Swedish) and we’ve been making them ever since trying out new flavours (eg tamarind). They’re wonderful in summer.
Mapakla: acrid, bitter, tart?
My officemates and I once had a long discussion on what the English word is for “mapakla.” One person said “bitter” but that’s “mapait;” another said “tart” but that’s closer to sour or “maasim” than “mapakla.” My vote was for “acrid” but even I concede it’s not the perfect translation. I guess it’s just one of those words that don’t translate.
How about “aphud” or “mapakla” as being “astringent?” Apparently grape skins and other unripe fruits have TANNINS (the same that are in wines) that have not only have a memorable and distinct non-taste, but more importantly an astringent effect on the tongue and a distinctive mouthfeel. Forget astringent as associated with Astringo-sol, or Eskinol, but rather astringent as defined by the Oxford dictionary as “causing skin or body tissue to contract” and hence that unique “aphudness” or “mapaklaness” of certain unripe fruits or skins…
i agree in describing mapakla as an astringent mouth feeling. not quite a flavor or taste but a feeling on the tongue and palate.
I always think of mapakla as describing a texture, graininess or sandiness or sand papery like sensation after you drink or eat something. A friend says he doesn’t like duhats because of the mapakla taste. I think it’s the aftertaste, when something you ate causes dryness, or leaves a roughness in the palate. Not necessarily a bad thing (otherwise we wouldn’t eat those foods), but for some people a bit offputting.
Marketman, i saw some peaches in the market, what do you recommend to do with them, as i am not exposed to fresh peaches i really have no idea how to deal with them. . . hehe but its really tempting to buy. . .
Peach cobblers are good. Peel the ripe peaches, add vanilla ice cream and some raspberry sauce or chocolate sauce for a nice dessert. You can make ice cream with them. But mostly, I just like to eat them as is…
How about this again for the English equivalent of “mapakla”?
Pucker: A tart flavor that causes one’s lips to pucker: the pucker of lemon.