Melon Ice Cream with Granita

It’s still melon season so why not make some ice cream. Actually ice cream AND granita.

Hear me out. This may seem like a somewhat odd combination, but have you guys been to Rita’s? You know the custard and Italian ice combos? Well this is kinda like that. First off, this recipe really celebrates the melon. I love basing my recipes off of seasonal fruits and vegetables. That’s the best way to eat. Of course you can’t forget about the other seasonal favorites like ribs or burgers, but lets stick to fruit for now.

Now, the first time I had melon ice cream was actually in Italy. I believe it was in Florence. Specifically, it was cantaloupe gelato, but same idea. After enjoying some summer melon, that food memory came back to me, so I wanted to come up with a fun way to recreate it.

One plus side to this ice cream is that it’s egg free, which means it’s extremely easy to make. Essentially dissolve the sugar into the cream and stir in some pureed melon later on. No tempering of eggs to worry about here.

The granita is very easy too. It might involve a few hours of inactive time and periodic scraping as it freezes, but it’s pretty darn foolproof.

Now back to why this combination is so good. It’s all about texture. There’s an awesome contrast between the creamy ice cream and fluffy, icy granita. Plus, the melon-on-melon flavor keeps everything delicate; one doesn’t overpower the other. I think this is a really fun dessert to serve at a summer dinner party. And hey, you could always serve the ice cream and granita separately. No judgements here.

Melon Ice Cream & Granita

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• Author: Sabrina Russo
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

It’s still melon season, so let’s make ice cream. Actually ice cream & granita. If you like those custard/Italian ice combos from Rita’s, you’ll love this.

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Ingredients

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Ice cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• ⅔ cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• Dash vanilla extract
• 12oz (~2 cups) cubed melon (I did one batch of honeydew & one of cantaloupe)
• Green or orange food coloring (optional)

Granita:

• 12oz (~2 cups) cubed melon (I did one batch of honeydew & one of cantaloupe)
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup light corn syrup, or to taste
• 1 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
• Pinch of salt
• Green or orange food coloring (optional)

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Instructions

1. Make ice cream base: Warm cream, sugar and salt in a sauce pot until sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.
2. Add melon & freeze: When ice cream base is chilled, puree the melon in a blender with about ½ cup of the cream mixture until smooth. Strain through a sieve and stir into the remaining ice cream base. Add a couple drops of food coloring, if desired. Freeze using an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Make granita base: Combine melon through salt in a blender and process until smooth. If your melon is very sweet, consider starting with less corn syrup and adjusting as needed. Add lemon, to taste. Filter through a sieve. Add a couple drops of food coloring, if desired.
4. Freeze granita: Pour mix into a flat, shallow tray, such as an 8×8 glass baking dish. Freeze for 45 minutes, remove from freezer and scrape with a fork to break up ice chunks. Repeat again every 30 minutes until the mixture resembles fluffy shaved ice, 2-4 hours total.
5. Serve: Scoop ice cream into serving bowls. Scrape granita and spoon over ice cream. You can serve honeydew ice cream and granita together or mix and match with the cantaloupe flavor. Enjoy.

• Prep Time: 55 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Dessert

Nutrition

• Serving Size: ¼ cup ice cream + ¼ cup granita
• Calories: 212
• Sugar: 30.3 g
• Sodium: 95.7 mg
• Fat: 10.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 6.5 g
• Carbohydrates: 31.1 g
• Fiber: 0.6 g
• Protein: 1.2 g