A refreshing scoop of cantaloupe sorbet and 2 teaspoons of mint sugar took my use-what-I-had fresh fruit salad to next level dessert-worthy. Think about it: Cooling, hydrating, and no-oven needed, this dessert deliciously helped me beat the 100°F temps in Philly. And, sure, it’s healthy, too.
Fruit Salad with Cantaloupe Sorbet
Snuggled in with the blueberries, raspberries, and an unpeeled peach were a couple of little diced sweet-as-sugar tomatoes. This fruit salad was already good enough to eat, but the addition of a teaspoon of just made mint sugar and a scoop of cantaloupe sorbet took it next level. “Enough for two?” you are thinking. I’d say yes, but I actually ate it all.
I’ll tell you what I did to make the sorbet—twice actually—using the same cantaloupe puree. If I had more melon, I’d have tried a third method which is likely the quickest of all.
Prepare the Melon
- Choose your melon. When it is ripe, refrigerate it. Mine was not very tasty. Lime juice helped.
- Wash your melon! Not optional.
- Cut your melon. Use a cutting board with a sharp knife.
- Scoop out the seeds. Compost or discard them.
- Slice into wedges. Remove the rind.
- Slice or dice into cubes. Refrigerate in a covered container.
Method 1: Ice Cream Maker Cantaloupe Sorbet
- First, I pureed the melon in a food processor, added 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and chilled the puree before churning it in my ice cream maker. I have a compressor unit which means plug-it-in-and-go, but ice cream makers like these work well. It’s what my daughter uses.
- In 20 minutes, I saw soft-serve sorbet. I didn’t expect this sorbet to have much body, it actually did. I choose not to add cream or sweetener to make a richer ice cream.
- Next, I spooned the sorbet into a container and froze it for 1 hour. I ate a small scoop and it was quite good, but it did melt very quickly, even in a chilled cup.
Method 2: Food Processor Cantaloupe Sorbet
- The next day, the frozen sorbet was rock-hard, so I let it melt in my refrigerator, wanting to try another method. When the puree was liquid again, I stirred it and poured it into silicon ice cube trays.
- When the cubes were frozen solid, I processed them in the bowl of my food processor. At first, I thought it might be granita, but it did actually pack into sorbet. This is easier.
Method 3
While I didn’t try this out since I was out of melon, next time, I’ll just freeze melon cubes and process them. Do you think this will work?
Make the Fruit Salad
- Assemble the fruit salad right in a serving bowl.
- Rinse and shake dry the berries
- Wash, stone, and cut the peaches into rather small chunks.
- Add a bit of citrus juice. I used 2 teaspoons.
- Optional: Add 1 – 2 teaspoons or more to taste of mint sugar or the same amount of maple syrup.
- Add a scoop of the melon sorbet. Add some chiffonade basil and mint and nasturtium leaves (I had one teeny one on my plant)!
I wanted to dig right in but waited to see how long it would take for the sorbet to melt into a natural syrup for the fruit salad. It took 15 minutes and was very flavorful.
Mint sugar
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons organic cane sugar
- 4-6 good-sized mint leaves
- 2 teaspoons tapioca starch optional
Instructions
Grind everything in a spice or coffee grinder until the sugar is fine and the mint is completely incorporated with no bits of leaves remaining. The sugar will be a lovely light green and scented with mint flavor.
- Store in a small jar, tightly covered.
Recipe Notes
The addition of tapioca starch will keep your mint sugar fluffy.
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