Filipino Melon sa Malamig is an insanely refreshing tropical cantaloupe beverage. It’s the perfect way to cool down with summer approaching. And best yet? You only need three ingredients to make your own at home!
๐ต๐ญ What Is Melon sa Malamig?
Melon sa Malamig is a delicious cantaloupe beverage from the Philippines. It contains just three simple ingredients: scraped or grated cantaloupe, water, and sugar. It’s essentially a Filipino version of the agua fresca, a beverage that’s big in Mexico and other parts of Central America.
Melon sa Malamig is a popular street food in the Philippines. The beverage is sold by samalamig street vendors. Samalamig refers to sweet, cold Filipino beverages. The term Samalamig derives from sa malamig–an adjective that means “chilled” in Tagalog (i.e. the national language of the Philippines). Some of the beverages have jelly-like ingredients in them–such as tapioca, sago, or agar agar. Other samalamig include fruit juices containing fresh fruit pieces, like Melon sa Malamig.
According to my mom, salamig vendors often hailed from the rural provinces of the Philippines. They came to Manila, the capitol of the Philippines, in search of jobs. After finding that jobs were also hard to come by in the city, people were forced to get enterprising. They began selling food and beverages on the street.
These vendors flocked to college campuses in Manila, where hungry college kids in search of cheap eats abounded. My mom taught college in Manila before immigrating to the U.S. She remembers her college teaming with such vendors.
My mom’s favorite beverage from the samalamig stands was Melon sa Malamig. I grew up enjoying it and am excited to share my mom’s recipe with you!
๐กRECIPE TIPS
- Use a melon scraper or grater with large holes on the melon flesh: Did you notice the funny lemon zester-like tool in the first photo? That’s a traditional Filipino melon scraper that’s used to make Melon sa Malamig. It’s hard to come by these scrapers outside the Philippines. So if you don’t have one, you can use a grater with large holes instead.
- Chill your Melon sa Malamig before serving: As I mentioned above, samalamig means “chilled”! Chill the beverage for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
- Infuse your beverage with fresh mint: This isn’t traditional, but we love to add fresh mint to our Melon sa Malamig to make it even more refreshing. Simply stir in a handful of freshly chopped mint leaves before refrigerating.
Love,
Val
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๐ฉ๐ฝโ๐ณ RECIPE
Filipino Melon sa Malamig (Cataloupe Drink)
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe
- 3 cups cold, filtered water
- Organic granulated sugar to taste
Instructions
- Cut the cantaloupe in half. Reserve the pulp and seeds. In a fine-mesh strainer, press all the liquid from the pulp and seeds into a bowl using the back of a spoon. Then discard the pulp and seeds.
- Scrape or or grate all the melon flesh into the same bowl. Use a traditional Filipino melon scraper or grater with large holes to do this. Discard the melon skin.
- Add water into the bowl. Then add sugar to taste. Stir well to combine. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Add both melon flesh and juice to glasses, to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use either a melon scraper or grater with large holes on the melon flesh: Traditional Filipino melon scrapers are hard to come by outside the Philippines. If you don’t have a melon scraper, you can use a grater with large holes to grate the melon flesh instead.
- Infuse your beverage with fresh mint: This isn’t traditional, but we love to add fresh mint to our Melon sa Malamig to make it even more refreshing. Simply stir in a handful of freshly chopped mint leaves before refrigerating.
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