Frozen Cantaloupe Cocktail Recipe (Frozen Cocktails Are Fun!)
|
|
What’s better on a hot day than a a frozen cocktail (or a non-alcoholic slushie—just leave out the tequila). This recipe, below, comes to us from Melissa’s Produce, which used a Charentais melon, a relative of cantaloupe. You can substitute cantaloupe or any other melon. There are also more delicious frozen drink recipes below. This “gourmet” melon is a more elegant version of a cantaloupe—some call it a French cantaloupe. It has similar flesh, but was bred to be even sweeter, with a more intense and distinctive aroma of tropical fruit and flowers. The variety originated in the Poitou-Charentes* region of western France in the 1920s. It was developed as a refined cantaloupe with a smoother, more aesthetically appealing skin—minimally netted, as opposed to the complete netting on a cantaloupe skin. The size was smaller, too: a perfect “breakfast for two.” These melons were almost exclusively available in France, because their thin skin and soft flesh does not travel well. Thus, while they are prized, there is low production because they are too delicate for commercial shipping. To please melon lovers across the pond, small amounts were planted and hybrids were created by crossing the Charentais with North American cantaloupes. This created a larger size and a thicker skin for better shipping. There is limited production of Charentais melons in the U.S. today. But if you have space for gardening, you can buy seeds and grow your own. Or, a faster solution: get them from specialty produce purveyors like Melissa’s. (By the way, unlike another famous french melon, the Cavaillon, Charentais melons are not protected by an A.O.C. designation [appellation d’origine contrôlée], which limits by law the specific region(s) where a product can be grown/made [like Champagne and Roquefort cheese, e.g.]. Therefore, Charentais melons can legally be grown anywhere.) Charentais melons grow 6″ in diameter and weigh 3-4 pounds. Botanically, the Charentais melon is Cucurbitaceae Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis. You can make this cocktail with any melon (and with cucumber, too). But if you want to serve it in a melon half, you’ll need to find a small cantaloupe. The frozen cocktail just as delicious in a Collins glass or a Margarita glass—and if you don’t want to scoop out the cantaloupe flesh when you’ve finished the drink, a glass is better. 1. PROCESS all of the ingredients in a blender, adding just enough of the ice to make a slushy drink. 2. POUR into the melon halves. You may need to cut a flat spot on the bottom so that they don’t tip. 3. GARNISH with mint and lime wedges. |
|
|
________________ *Poitou-Charentes, a region on the French Atlantic coast with Roman, Renaissance and medieval history, is now part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its best-known cities are La Rochelle, the region’s capital, which is on the coast; and Poitiers, inland. Other important cities are Angoulême, Châtellerault, Niort, Saintes, Rochefort and Royan. |
||
