Welcome to save a bowl, use a melon. I’m bringing back my favorite series from autumn (save a bowl, use a squash) and zhuzhing it up for this summer series.
We’re using some of the most abundant August fruits functionally!!!! They are very bowl like, and therefore, work perfectly as our serving dish. Melons are one of those foods that I feel like get a bad rap. They’re underrated, and it makes sense why because they’re often grown outside of season leaving them flavorless and bland. I feel like year round there’s going to be cantaloupe&honeydew in a plastic fruit cup, but to me that’s not real melon.
A melon grown properly in peak season is such a gift, it’s extremely fragrant, has notes of floral and honey, and is incredibly juicy with the perfect burst of sweetness. They are quite literally thirst quenching, and it’s no coincidence that one of the most hydrating fruits is available during one of the hottest months of the year.
Today we’re highlighting four of the most popular & favorite melons: cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew & sugar plum (which is like a baby variety of cantaloupe). I’ve been trying out a ton more melons this year, there’s so many I haven’t even heard of. If you see any you are curious about, try them!!!! & you can even swap out those for the melons I use if the shoe fits, but I wanted to create my main recipes with melons that are most easily accessible. BTW—If you see a yellow watermelon, gettttt itttttt. It’s my new obsession.
OK before we get into it lets to do a little crash course on picking a good melon, because there’s nothing worse than picking up a watermelon at the market, being soooooo excited about it, and then cutting it open only to reveal that it’s overripe, grainy, mushy and flavorless. Devastating. So let’s try to avoid that the best we can and pick melons that are juicy & sweeeet.
First & foremost, try to shop seasonally and locally if possible! That always produces the best tasting produce. I am no expert on this, this is just knowledge I’ve collected through research, so let me know if you know something I don’t!!!!!
Watermelon Best Practices—
a buttery yellow colored field spot (discolored patch)
dull & matte darker skin that is firm when pressed
course wide webbing (brownish markings from healthy pollination)
smaller and tighter blossom end (naval looking circle)
Cantaloupe/Sugar Best Practices—
no piece of stem still attached (could indicate picking too early)
smell the skin (or blossom end)—should be a sweet&floral aroma
the web like netting on the skin should be raised, thick and course
skin should be more warm and beige vs green
blossom end when pressed should be springy vs mushy
Honeydew Best Practices—
shouldn’t be completely smooth and hard, textured
firm but springy when pressed
creamy buttery yellow skin vs bright green or white
Other Melons/Overall Best Practices
Check for color & aroma
Heavy weight for its size (juicier)
Free of bruises and cracks
Small & tight naval
Ok now that we’re picking out the best of the best melons, let’s save a bowl and use a melon!!! Obviously these recipes can all be made without using the melons as the bowls/cups, but this is just more fun, functional, beautiful, and obviously delicious.
Basil Tarragon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, in a Cantaloupe
Tomato & Watermelon Salad, in a Watermelon
Creamy Honeydew Herb Lemonade, in a Honeydew
Lemony Yogurt Bowl, in a Sugar Melon
Let’s get intooooo it…..
Basil Tarragon Ice Cream, in a Cantaloupe
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream
2.5 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla bean powder (or 1 Madagascar vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste)
5g tarragon
1g basil leaves
For Two
1 ripe cantaloupe melon
To top: lemon zest, extra virgin olive oil and flakey salt
Recipe
Bring a small pot of water to a boil and separately prepare an ice bath
Blanch tarragon and basil leaves for 10-20 seconds in boiling water, and immediately transfer to ice bath, let sit for a minute then remove
Add milk and cream into a pot and add in herbs over medium heat, add in sugar, stirring often until sugar is dissolved and milk is steaming but NOT boiling, then remove from heat, stir and cover
Let herbs steep for 5-10 minutes, then remove lid and use an immersion blender to blend herbs into milk and cream
Strain milk and cream through a mesh strainer to get rid of any small herb pieces
Stir in vanilla, then add ice cream base to a sealable airtight container and let cool in the fridge for a few hours or overnight
Add ice cream base to ice cream churner and churn for 30-50 minutes until thick and creamy (timing depends on ice cream maker)
While ice cream is churning, slice cantaloupe in half and remove seeds, drink out any excess juice and place upside down on a parchment lined plate, place in the freezer (should only stay in the freezer for no more than 30 minutes)
Once ice cream is done, scoop ice cream into cantaloupe halves
Add some lemon zest, extra virgin olive oil, flakey salt and enjoyyyyy
Tomato & Watermelon Salad, in a Watermelon
Ingredients
