Patillazo is watermelon blended with water and crushed ice and sharpened with lime. Patilla is what Colombia's Caribbean coast calls watermelon, so the name means something close to a big hit of watermelon, which is what it is.
It belongs to Barranquilla, where it is sold from street carts and ice cream parlours and drunk very cold, straight away, in weather that does not forgive a slow drink.
Patilla, sandía, and where the word changes
Most of the Spanish-speaking world says sandía. The Caribbean coast of Colombia and the whole of Venezuela say patilla, and the line between the two runs roughly where the mountains meet the coast.
It matters here because the drink is named after the coastal word. Ask for a sandiazo and nobody will know what you mean; ask for a patillazo in Barranquilla and you will have one in about forty seconds.
Barranquilla, and the Carnival
Barranquilla's carnival is among the biggest in Latin America and it falls in February, when the coast is at its hottest. Days of dancing in that heat create a very specific kind of thirst, and the patillazo vendors are part of the street furniture of the whole event.
It is drunk all year round, not only in Carnival season. But that is when everyone has one.
Choosing the watermelon
With four ingredients and no cooking, the fruit is the recipe. Two signs are worth knowing, and neither requires cutting it open.
- Weight. Pick up two watermelons of the same size. The ripe one feels heavier, because it is denser with water. An underripe one feels oddly light for how big it is.
- The field spot. Every watermelon has a pale patch on one side, where it rested on the ground as it grew. A creamy or buttery yellow patch means it ripened on the vine. White or pale green means it was picked too early, and it will not sweeten any further.
Watermelons vary enormously in sweetness, which is why the recipe leaves sugar out of the ingredient list and mentions it only as an option. Taste the blended drink before you decide it needs any.
Lime goes in last
The watermelon, water and ice go into the blender together. The lime juice does not: it goes in afterwards, stirred into the jug.
Blending citrus with ice knocks the edge off it, and the sharpness is the entire reason the lime is there. Watermelon on its own is sweet and slightly flat; the lime is what turns it into a drink rather than a purée.
On the coast, limón means lime. Lemon will work, but it is sharper and more floral, and it reads as sour against watermelon where lime reads as fresh.
Drink it now, not later
Blended watermelon is mostly water with very fine pulp suspended in it, and that pulp settles. Within twenty minutes you will see it separating in the jug, with clear liquid rising to the top. That is normal and a stir fixes it.
What a stir does not fix is the flavour, which flattens within a couple of hours even refrigerated. This is a drink to make when you want it, which at ten minutes is not much of an imposition.
Other cold Colombian drinks
- Lulo juice — the tart one, from a fruit that tastes like nothing else.
- Salpicón — fruit in juice, eaten with a spoon.
- Borojó juice — the coastal one with a reputation.
- Watermelon juice — without the lime.
Patillazo FAQ
A watermelon drink from the Caribbean coast of Colombia: watermelon blended with water and crushed ice, then sharpened with lime juice. It is sold from street carts, ice cream parlours and restaurants in Barranquilla, and it is drunk cold and fast, because it separates as it stands.
Watermelon. Patilla is the word used on Colombia's Caribbean coast and throughout Venezuela; inland Colombia and most of Latin America say sandía. So a patillazo is, quite literally, a big hit of watermelon.
Because of the heat and the Carnival. Barranquilla's carnival is one of the largest in Latin America, held in February when the coast is at its hottest, and vendors selling patillazo are part of the street scene. It is drunk year-round there, but that is when everyone has one in their hand.
Two signs. It should feel heavy for its size, since a ripe watermelon is denser with water. And look for the pale yellow patch on one side, where it sat on the ground as it grew: a creamy yellow patch means it ripened on the vine, while a white or greenish one means it was picked early.
Lime. On the Colombian coast limón means lime, and that is what goes into a patillazo. Lemon is sharper and more floral, and against watermelon it reads as sour rather than refreshing. Add it after blending, not before, since blending the juice with ice dulls it.
Because blended watermelon is mostly water with fine pulp suspended in it, and the pulp settles. It is not a fault: stir or shake before pouring. It also loses its fresh taste within a couple of hours even in the fridge, so make it close to when you plan to drink it.
📖 Recipe
Patillazo (Barranquilla Watermelon Lemonade)
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 200 g watermelon (patilla) (about 7 oz; seeds removed. This makes a light, refreshing drink rather than a thick one)
- 1 lime (limón on the Colombian coast means lime, not lemon)
- Ice (crushed if you can)
- ½ liter water (about 2 cups)
Notas
Instructions
- Cut the watermelon into pieces, take out the seeds, and blend it with the water and the ice.
- Pour it into a jug, add the lime juice and stir.
- Add more ice if you want it colder.
Vittorio
Se puede congelar?
Mely Martinez
Si, lo puedes congelar.