Frozen Melon With Crushed Raspberries and Lime

Name: Frozen Melon With Crushed Raspberries and Lime
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 4 cups/640 grams cut melon, such as cantaloupe, watermelon or charentais, or a mixture (buy it precut, or remove the rind of a whole melon and cut into 2-inch chunks to get 4 cups); 1/2 cup/120 milliliters fresh lime juice, plus more as needed; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more as needed; 6 ounces/90 grams raspberries; 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest; Sumac (optional); Flaky sea salt (optional)

By Alison Roman

Total Time: 15 minutes, plus 4 hours’ freezing
Rating: 4(122)
Notes: Read community notes

Inspired by packed cups of Italian ice, this frozen melon dessert is the best way to enjoy melon (besides eating it fresh). Be sure to season it with enough citrus juice to give some dimension to the melon, which tends to read as simply sweet. Frozen melon can be made two weeks ahead, either scraped or unscraped. (If scraped, store in a resealable plastic container and re-fluff before serving.)

Featured in: What to Do With All That Summer Fruit

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

4cups/640 grams cut melon, such as cantaloupe, watermelon or charentais, or a mixture (buy it precut, or remove the rind of a whole melon and cut into 2-inch chunks to get 4 cups)
½cup/120 milliliters fresh lime juice, plus more as needed
2tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more as needed
6ounces/90 grams raspberries
1tablespoon finely grated lime zest
Sumac (optional)
Flaky sea salt (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Blend melon in a food processor or blender until completely smooth; you should have about 4 cups purée. Transfer to a 9-by-4-inch loaf pan (or a shallow baking dish, if you have space for it in your freezer).
Step 2
Add ½ cup lime juice and 2 tablespoons sugar and stir to blend; season with more lime juice and sugar, as needed. The mixture should be fairly tart and sweet. (The sweetness dulls once the mixture is frozen, so stay on the sweeter side now.) Place in freezer and let freeze until completely solid, anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending on your freezer.
Step 3
Once the mixture is frozen, use a spoon or fork to scrape the frozen melon into a fluffy pile of ice. If it becomes soft or melty when scraping, place it in the freezer until it’s solid enough to scrape again.
Step 4
If serving immediately, lightly pack some of the ice into serving glasses or bowls. (If not, transfer the ice to a resealable container and freeze until ready to serve. The frozen melon can be prepared up to 2 weeks ahead; if scraped, it might need a little re-fluffing before serving.) Top each serving with raspberries and use a spoon or fork to crush them into the ice. Top with more ice, followed by a bit of lime zest, and then a little sumac and flaky salt, if using.

Ratings

4 out of 5

122 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Alexa4 years ago

I made this with watermelon and added a little cayenne pepper - adds some really nice flavour, definitely would recommend.

Laurie4 years ago

Experimented with a variation of this but wanted a creamier gelato texture. Froze chunks of watermelon w/ juice then semi-defrosted it & combined with frozen banana, unsweetened coconut flakes, walnut pieces and a teaspoon of maple syrup. Pulsed in blender but kept it thick, not like a smoothie. It was a great, healthier alternative to the high fat, high sugar gelato I usually eat. Thanks for reminding me to pick up watermelon today and make it again.

Hillary4 years ago

I added Tajin and it was amazing.

mosaic4 years ago

I’m allergic to melon, but I thought this might work nicely with papaya. It did. Lovely.

Hank4 years ago

Very tasty and refreshing after a warm day. A nice alternative to ice cream and other sugar driven desserts, and perfect for what we had in the refrigerator.

Dotty4 years ago

I sliced into a cantaloupe only to realize it was not ripe enough for my taste. This recipe put it to good use! I used a twist-top storage container for freezing and gave it a good shake when the mixture started to separate about an hour in. So easy and delicious!

Ferguson4 years ago

I used my ice cream maker. After straining the puree I chilled it before putting it in the ice cream maker. It made for a very smooth dessert.

erika4 years ago

had something v similar at a restaurant recently, served with a dollop of creme fraiche. SO good.

Maggie Merkow9 months ago

Absolutely divine and pretty. Used 1/2 cantelope and 1/2 watermelon plus 3 tbsp sugar.

Patty4 years ago

Can I use this make sorbet in my ice cream maker instead of just freezing? Any changes needed?

Ellen4 years ago

Add cayenne?

Matthew9 months ago

Made exactly as written, and 12/10 incredible. (FYI, It took 4 hours to freeze in an 8x8 container)

Louise Purfield-Coak8 months ago

I fixed this today, using a very, nice ripe cantaloupe. I substituted Splenda in exact proportions, and will next time add a bit more to the lime juice. It was a touch sour. I froze mine in a glass Pyrex 5x8 pan, in my chest freezer. It froze solid in an hour. This makes a good diabetic frozen dessert.

Pamela9 months ago

A really refreshing way to use up the half-watermelon we had left over. I splashed a little honey bourbon in to sweeten and round out the taste--worked nicely! I imagine a lot of liqueurs would work well here too.