I have been wanting to try and make canteloupe ice cream for years since a friend moved away from town to acreage that had established gardens with LOTS of fruits and veggies that needed to be consumed.  One of the items she shared that first summer was a fresh canteloupe so wonderful I started dreaming of making ice cream.

The problem was, I never had enough truly fresh canteloupe (grocery store canteloupe does not count) that I was willing to save for ice cream rather than just eat outright.  Finally, with lots of melons in my CSA box, I had 1/2 a canteloupe I was willing to save.

3-4 c cubed canteloupe

• 3-4 c. cubed canteloupe
• 1/2 c. dry vermouth
• heavy cream and milk to equal 2 c.
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs, whisked

Puree cantelope in food processor, then add vermouth and combine.

Combine dairy and sugar in large sauce pan over low heat, whisking regularly until small bubbles form around sides.  I used unrefined sugar I had purchased at a Hutterite grocery store in Montana earlier this summer.  I was going for a less sweet ice cream…

Add about 1/2 c warm dairy to eggs and whisk to combine.  Add egg mixture to warm milk mixture in sauce pan and continue warming until it coasts a metal spoon like so –

custard coated spoon

I prefer the texture of ice cream made with an egg based custard.  I have also made ice cream with all heavy cream, and  just milk with good results both ways.  I also considered a sorbet for the canteloupe, which would have been good too, but I was set on ice cream.   I added the vermouth to see if it gave it a bit of a boozy tang.  🙂

After the custard coated the spoon, I set the sauce pan in an ice bath for about 15 minutes and whisked until the custard was cool.

I used this as an opportunity to clean out the ice maker in my freezer.

I strained both the custard and the fruit puree through a fine strainer because I was looking for a very smooth consistency.  If the custard isn’t strained, I find the ice cream has a grainy texture that we didn’t care for.

Normally, I  let the custard cool in the fridge overnight and it freezes better in the ice cream maker.  I was in a hurry today.

Combine the custard and the fruit in your ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

I let the maker work for about 40 minutes, but the ice cream didn’t get hard enough to scoop, so next time I will stick with cooling the custard overnight.  The flavor is wonderful and canteloupe-y (is that a word?).  I’m not sure the vermouth gave it the bite I was looking for, so next time I will try a stronger flavored white wine maybe, like a dry reisling.