Honeydew + Mint Sorbet

I am not a huge fan of honeydew.  I enjoy a good cantaloupe, but find honeydew to be an inferior melon.  But I wound up with a whole honeydew melon after trying unsuccessfully to take some cute maternity shots with it when baby was about the size of a melon.  So I had to find something to do with the honeydew.  I figured sorbet would be a good choice and it wound up being one of the best choices I’ve ever made with unwanted fruit!

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I found this recipe on Simply Recipes.  There is also a variation for a cantaloupe sorbet.  The mint in this honeydew sorbet makes it extremely refreshing and a perfect light summer dessert.  I think it would be a spectacular ending to a spicy meal.

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It’s lovely all by itself, but also quite good with some sparkling water poured on top, making for a rather wonderful slushy drink.  Come June I can easily see myself adding in a little vodka for a spiked version.

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Making the mint simple syrup doesn’t take much time, and neither does the prep for the melon.  But then you do have to let it sit in the fridge for a while.  And then you do have to let it freeze for a while longer after it freezes in the ice cream maker.  So this isn’t something you decide to make in the morning and enjoy that evening, unless you’re amazing or have a super cold freezer.  Make it a day or two or a week in advance and it will be ready when you want it.

The texture of my sorbet wasn’t super smooth, more on the icy side.  But it’s still delicious, lovely and sweet with added interest from the mint.  This is definitely a summer dessert that I’ll be making again in the coming months.

Honeydew + Mint Sorbet

From Simply Recipes

Ingredients

  • 5 cups honeydew melon chunks (1 medium sized honeydew melon)
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves (I used 1 pouch of mint, a little less than 1/2 cup)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

  1. Make the simple syrup: combine sugar, water and lemon zest in a small saucepan set over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved.  Remove from the heat and stir in the mint.  Let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Puree the melon in 2 batches in a blender until very smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl after blending.
  3. Strain the simple syrup and pour it with the pureed melon.
  4. Stir in the lemon juice and corn syrup.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
  5. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.
  6. Scoop into a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least a few hours.  Sorbet will be hard, let warm up on the counter before scooping.