Coming together over Cantaloupe Honey Sorbet
This post is sponsored by KitchenAid Canada.
Melons are a summer fruit we can all agree to like in my little family. Believe it or not, I have one boy who despises berries of all kinds and another boy who will have nothing to do with stone fruits. Melon, however, disappears as fast as I can cut it into wedges.
I’m trying to be patient with these peculiar tastes of my children, even though I’m yearning to make summer berry crisps and peach cobblers a part of our regular dessert line-up. (And sometimes I do, just for Danny and I.) Clara, on the other hand, eats all fruits, and all vegetables, for that matter. Can I attribute this to baby-led weaning? Partially, I am sure.
Taste buds can change – I’ve seen it happen – and I am confident the boys will eventually grow out of this picky phase. They heartily enjoy foods like beans, lentils, olives, avocado, seafood, and salads, so I have that to be thankful for.
For now, we’ll come together over cantaloupe, sticky our fingers with watermelon and hang out over a plate of honeydew on hot summer days. This sorbet is a perfect example of that happening.
Making this sorbet was a spur of the moment decision. So swift, in fact, that I didn’t think twice about scooping out half a cup of pre-pasta boiling water from a pot on the stove – and then adding it to honey for my simple syrup. It seemed like a sensible shortcut.
I completely forgot the water in the pot was pre-salted until I dipped a spoon into the syrup for a taste (always taste your food!). The salt surprised me, but then, as I stood in my hot kitchen, contemplating the cubes of cantaloup, it all made perfect sense.
Since cantaloupe (papaya and watermelon too, for that matter) is best enjoyed with the slightest sprinkling of salt to balance the sweetness of the fruit and mysteriously enhance the flavour, there was a good chance it would do the same for my sorbet. And it absolutely turned out to be a good thing.
I haven’t spotted local melons at the markets yet, so we’re eating cantaloupe shipped up from the US. They’re probably picked slightly green and aren’t as flavourful as the local varieties. A salted honey simple syrup took care of any, and I mean any, shortcomings my melon may have had.
It was utterly fantastic; even the kids agreed, as they toasted ‘Cheers!’ with their cones. A toast to summer, breaking out the KitchenAid ice cream attachment, and a fruit we can all agree on.
Salted Cantaloupe Honey Sorbet
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup liquid honey
- 3 pinches sea salt
- 4 cups cubed cantaloupe about 1 whole
- 1 Tablespoon vodka
Instructions
- At least 12 hours before making ice cream, set the freeze bowl of a KitchenAid ice cream maker in the freezer.
- Combine honey, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a small pot over medium heat. Warm until honey is melted and salt is dissolved. Cool.
- Add cantaloupe, honey syrup and vodka to a blender and puree until completely smooth. Transfer to a quart jar and chill for at least 6 hours or until very cold.
- Attach the freeze bowl to the KitchenAid stand mixer as directed in the care manual. Give the sorbet base a good shake as it will have separated during the chill time.
- With the dasher turning in the freeze bowl, pour the entire jar of sorbet base into the bowl. Churn for 30 minutes.
- Serve at once, or transfer the sorbet to a lidded plastic container and freeze for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
DISCLOSURE:
KitchenAid Canada has compensated me for my services and my posts, but all posts represent my own opinion.
Who doesn’t like berries?? I know. Sigh. What food is your child refusing to try these days?
How fun!! Loving all of the summery frozen recipes today! The flavor combo here is sooo calling my name!!
Your family is so cute. Thanks for sharing your story, it was the perfect monday morning read! And this sorbet sounds delicious!
Yum! What a refreshing treat for summer. Looks wonderful!
We are getting cantaloupe in our box this week and we have guests coming this weekend, so the timing is perfect! Thanks, Aimee! Can’t wait to give this a try.
And, how cute is that photo with all of the little hands holding their cones? Adorable! Hope you’re having a fantastic summer, friend!
Too adorable! And I will take two scoops!
This is incredible! Cantaloupe is one of my favorite sorbet flavors ever, and the genius of slightly salted simple syrup — what a happy accident 🙂 Love this so much, and adore these precious photos of your family. It sounds like you’re navigating the choppy waters of picky palates just masterfully.
Thanks, for the delicious recipe and cute pictures. I’m going to try it using frozen fruit and cold honey and vodka in a blender. Then I’ll pipe it into ice pops. So far I’ve only made mango pops with pure mango puree.
Woah salted cantaloupe?! This reminds me of childhood because my dad would always salt our fruit (watermelons and melons especially) so this sorbet flavor is bringing me back!! Adore this!
So funny – my kids all love berries and stone fruits but NOT melons. There’s no accounting for taste! Maybe this will change their minds…
It’s definitely the salt that does it for me here. You cannot go wrong with salt and honey!
What a great summer dessert!
We used to salt our cantaloupe slices growing up but I haven’t done it in years. Glad this post reminded me of how well the two pair together. I sprinkled a little salt on my slices today at lunch. Yum.
I don’t have an ice cream maker. Posts like this definitely make me wish I did. Maybe I will try an alternative version in the Vitamix…
The salt on cantaloupe is new to me. My family peppers our cantaloupe. I’ll have to give the salt a try.
Definitely a must do!!!!! WOW, the recipe looks amazing!
http://tinymarmalade.blogspot.co.uk/
Such a cooling & refreshing flavor!