Melon Sorbet

The weather has created a bit of a rift between me and the kitchen. Right now, I can’t bring myself to cook anything that means standing over a hot stove. Today, I could barely make the walk from the house to the car without feeling completely drained.

I know I’ve been leaning heavily into cold desserts lately, but I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

So here’s Melon Sorbet from Third Culture Cooking by Zainab Issa. It’s exactly what I’ve been craving latelylight, icy, and refreshing, with crystals that melt on your tongue and cool you down, if only for a few moments. In weather like this, that’s more than enough.

So yes, here we are again with another frozen dessert this week.

Serves 6 (24 ounces sorbet)

30 minutes, plus 7 to 12 hours chill time

I’ve always loved very cold, icy things like Slurpees, slushies, sorbet, and Italian ice. This melon sorbet was born out of wanting an even colder way to enjoy one of my favorite summertime snacks: ripe melon with chili powder, salt, and lemon or lime juice. This technique for making sorbet is very easy and yields a shockingly ideal sorbet texture, not too hard and frosty but not too wet and melty thanks to the honey syrup inhibiting crystallization when freezing. Choosing to completely freeze only half of the cantaloupe makes the blending process much smoother and keeps things in sorbet territory rather than granita, although that would also be lovely. I find cantaloupe’s firm flesh to be ideal for this, but this technique will work on watermelon, honeydew, and even mango or berries, but manage your textural expectations accordingly (watermelon probably will be a little on the icier side, while mangos and berries probably will be a little softer and creamier); just make sure to keep the ratio as is, starting with 1½ pounds (680 g) of prepared fruit. Freezing tends to mellow out flavors, so when you taste the puree, make sure it tastes a little more intense than where you’d want it to be from a sweetness perspective. This really isn’t an issue when you’re using in-season melon, but since it’s not summer all year round where I live, it’s worth noting.

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe cantaloupe* (about 3 pounds/1.3 kg), cut in half, seeded, flesh scooped out and cut into 1-inch cubes, divided

2 tablespoons good-quality honey, plus more to taste 2 tablespoons boiling water, plus more as needed

½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Lemon or lime wedges, for serving

Flaky sea salt, for serving

Aleppo chili flakes, for serving

Extra virgin olive oil, for serving *

INSTEAD OF . . . Cantaloupe, use another melon or ripe summer fruit

METHOD :

Spread half of the cubed cantaloupe on a baking sheet in an even layer. Freeze until solid, 4 to 6 hours. Set the remaining cantaloupe aside for later. Put the honey and boiling water in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let stand until cooled to room temperature. Put the remaining cantaloupe in a high-speed blender (preferably one with a tamper) or a food processor and add the kosher salt, honey syrup, and frozen cantaloupe. Blend until smooth and Frostee-like in texture and on the sweet side (the sweetness will mellow as it freezes). If it’s not sweet enough for you, make more honey syrup using the same 1:1 honey to boiling water ratio and add it in at this phase. Transfer to a loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, 3 to 5 hours. To serve, scoop into bowls using a warm ice cream scoop. Finish with a squeeze of lemon or lime, flaky salt, chili flakes, and a drizzle of olive oil. Freeze, covered in plastic wrap, or in an airtight container, for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping and serving.