Because they cantaloupe!
I recently acquired one and a half cantaloupes from a friend who was leaving town and wasn't able to finish them before they went bad. Well, this friend should've guessed what I would do with said cantaloupes... make ice cream, of course! I've had cantaloupe ice cream before and remember being surprised by how much I liked it. Subtle, yet distinctive. I was excited to try to make it myself. Here's what I did:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 ripe cantaloupes
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 eggs
- 3 limes
- 1 1/2 cups cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Cut up the cantaloupe into chunks. Blend into a liquid in a blender. Juice the limes (I like to do this over a mesh strainer to get out the pulp and seeds) and stir the lime juice into the cantaloupe. Set the lime/cantaloupe juice aside.
Now it's time to make your ice cream base. In a large pot, heat the cream and milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is just about to boil. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Once the milk/cream mixture is heated, begin to add it to the egg mixture in 1/4 cup increments, stirring constantly until about 1 1/2 cups have been added. Then, return everything to the pot and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes (the mixture should coat the back of a spoon). Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Pour the ice cream base through a mesh strainer into a large bowl or container. Stir in the cantaloupe/lime juice. Strain the ice cream one more time through the mesh strainer to ensure that it is creamy and smooth. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.Once the ice cream is cooled down in the refrigerator, run through the ice cream maker for about 20 minutes (this will take two batches). Freeze for at least a few hours before eating.
