Nilo Guanabana Review

It’s really, truly winter, and among other crushing aspects of the season, some of the best fruit is hard to find. I live in the Midwest, so if you’re in a warmer climate and have access to other seasonal options, congratulations. I envy you for that. The weather here sucks ass, and if I’m being completely honest, I would love to not experience another cold season. Realistically, there’s nothing I will do about it. I’ll bundle up in a winter coat and thick scarf every year and sigh and fantasize about other places I could be living.

All of that aside, I try to look for little ways to forget it’s winter. I listen to “warm sounding” music (don’t ask me to explain- if you know, you know), try to stay active, and I keep a running list of little things I’ll do on an unseasonably “nice” day (read: 50 degrees or higher) when global warming decides to remind us of its chokehold on our planet. The best advice I have for getting through the winter is making it work for you. Rent movies from the library, buy fruit juices, have dinner parties with people you love, those sorts of things. While I do hate winter, I’m trying to learn to appreciate it for what it is: a period of hibernation where I can tuck away from the world and plan my reemergence into the warmer life I prefer.

I feel the same way about cantaloupe. Over the last year or so, I’ve been learning to appreciate it. It’s often ridiculed for being the unwanted filler in fruit salad, and while I still agree with that sentiment, cantaloupe has a few moments of redemption. It just needs a little more care and thought than other fruits, and I’m sure if we asked the cantaloupe, it would beg us to stop comparing it to its more popular cousin, the watermelon. Let's stop pitting two bad bitches against each other.

I recently decided to try Nilo’s Guanabana fruit juice. The flavor itself wasn’t bad, but there weren’t as many pulpy bits as I’d like. I realize I’ve already covered two polarizing topics so far (winter and cantaloupe), but I’d like to throw one more into the ring: juice with pulp is good. When it’s done right, the bits are small enough to enjoy a little crunch crunch mid-sip. It’s a welcome respite from the drinking experience...a reprieve we all can afford to take. In this case, the little crunch crunch was good, but not really enough to remedy the overpowering stevia aftertaste that accompanied every sip. The fruit flavor was good, but that lingering aftertaste was more than I could bear. Instead of getting upset and chalking this drink altogether, I decided to show it some love.

I considered a few options when I thought about combining this drink with other ingredients. I wanted something sweet that would be in the same range as the drink, but mellow enough not to take center stage. I still wanted the drink’s true flavor to come through, with the stevia masked a bit. I also aimed to make the drink a little summery, but challenged myself not to include citrus or the usual suspects in accomplishing this task. I think using pineapple would’ve been an option, but that was too easy, and I wanted to work for my reward. I went with cantaloupe. I’d just frozen some after a trip to the grocery store a few weeks ago, and had been waiting for the right moment to use it. Now was the time. I smoothly blended cantaloupe with Nilo’s Guanabana juice, coconut cream, and ice. This can easily be enjoyed through a straw, or you could add more ice if you want it to have a thicker, more dessert-like quality. The result was amazing, and reminded me that something can be good if you work for it a little.

I’m giving Nilo Guanabana juice a 5/10, noting the imperfections I stated above, and keeping in mind that it serves more as a mixer than a standalone drink. The recipe details are below, if you’d like to try making this.

You will need:

• 3-4 slices of cantaloupe (mine was frozen, but yours doesn’t have to be)
• 6 oz Nilo’s Guanabana juice (chilled)
• 1 teaspoon coconut cream
• 1 cup of ice
• a blender

Blend until evenly mixed, serve and enjoy.