Cantaloupe Overload

[Shelby]

I mentioned on another thread that we had a little mix-up seed wise in the greenhouse.  What we thought were cucumber seeds were actually cantaloupe.  Soooooo, instead of a glut of cukes that I was going to pickle, we have like a zillion melons.  Picked the first one this morning.

 

 

I will do the usual googling and searching but I also want to pick your brains.  Maybe think outside the box.  More than ever I don't want to waste anything. Recipes, ways to preserve....pressure canning????  Just anything.  Or, last resort, the raccoons have major feasts every night lol.

[heidih]

Well maybe they will distract the raccoons from more precious vegetables   Seriously though I think the flavor is cuke like to some extent when not super ripe so pickled? Do a test drive with a quick pickle. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Marcella Hazan suggests an ethereal if rich pasta.     This is one of those "far greater than the sum of its parts".

 

That ought to take care of at least one...

Edited July 26, 2020 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Katie Meadow]

10 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Marcella Hazan suggests an ethereal if rich pasta.     This is one of those "far greater than the sum of its parts".

 

That ought to take care of at least one...

 

Dinner and dessert all in one bowl. That sounds amazing.

[heidih]

You specified preservation. I was just re-reading Roberta's blog where she made mango chutney. I bet ripe cantaloupe would like that type of treatment and you can can it. 

[lemniscate]

Fire up that VP215!  Compressed melon.

[weinoo]

I've made some nice salsas with melon. Are you growing prosciutto as well?

[blue_dolphin]

I've made homemade melon liqueur similar to this recipe.  Use a very ripe and fragrant melon and it will really capture the aroma.  Fun to have a very summer-y tasting cocktail in the winter!

I like to add the zest of a lime along with the melon and I prefer to go light on the sugar.  Just taste as you add it to see what you like. 

 

And there are always melon popsicles 🙃

 

[chromedome]

If you should feel inclined to try pickling a full-sized but immature melon - at the "green" stage where the flavor is still mostly vegetal - I'd be curious to know how that turns out.

 

My growing season is marginal for even short-season melons (I've had a couple of tiny-but-ripe watermelons, but my cantaloupes have all succumbed to pests and/or untimely frosts). I'd think about it a lot harder if I knew they could be pickled successfully.

[MokaPot]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I've made some nice salsas with melon. Are you growing prosciutto as well?

 

Agree, IME, salsa is surprisingly good with cantaloupe (and honeydew). Sounds odd, but it's really nice. Just the normal tomato, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, jalapeno, lime, cilantro - with cantaloupe. I put Tabasco sauce in mine as well.

[teonzo]

You can make a risotto with cantaloupe and capers. I posted the recipe here time ago. This is a favourite of mine, so much that I already planned to make it tomorrow. If you like it then you can vac-pack (diced pulp + rind pieces) what you need for a serving for you and Ronnie, then freeze it.

You can put the pulp in a blender, blitz it to get a puree, then freeze it. This puree can be used for sorbets (don't know if you have an ice-cream machine). Or as a base for a fruit salad: you pour the cantaloupe puree in a dish, then add diced fruit (what you want, apples, pears, peaches, cucumbers, watermelons, any berries...).

If you have a bit of experience then you can candy the diced pulp, similar way as what you do to candy citrus peels. After candying you can can them with their syrup. Candied melon is the base for calissons.

You can also make cantaloupe jam.

If you like licorice, then it pairs really well with cantaloupe.

 

 

Teo

 

[BeeZee]

Cantaloupe "gazpacho" (plenty of recipes online)...I've made watermelon gazpacho, and it was tasty. I'm supposing if you make a batch to see if you like it, you can then make more and jar it for later consumption...

[heidih]

11 minutes ago, teonzo said:

If you like licorice, then it pairs really well with cantaloupe.

 

 

Yes! Or any anise flavor profile. As in many instances - opposites attract.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Don't throw away the seeds! They make a very tasty agua fresca. For 2 melons, put the seeds and the juicy pulp around them into a blender with 4 c. water, 2 Tbs. honey, and 2 tsp. grated ginger. Buzz until smooth. Strain out the seeds, pressing on the pulp to extract all the juice, and enjoy. If you want more concentrated flavor you can throw in some of the flesh as well, which also makes it thicker. You can also make a smoothie with the flesh, yogurt, ginger and milk or fruit juice to thin. Sweeten to taste. If you still have too many melons you can freeze the puree as teonzo mentioned above, which will give you smoothie material for a taste of summer in the middle of winter There are recipes online for cantalope jam as well. Think of this as a good thing rather than a problem. You know, when life gives you lemons...

Edited July 26, 2020 by Nancy in Pátzcuaro
clarity (log)

[FeChef]

Freeze them. They hold up pretty well to freezing. And you can use them frozen to make smoothies, or add them to wine to make sangria. I personally enjoy eating them partially frozen along with frozen mango and frozen grapes.

[Kim Shook]

Freeze the puree.  Then when you want to use it, make this soup.  

[Shelby]

Ran across a few different recipes for Cantaloupe Pie.  Thought that sounded super interesting.  Made the first one yesterday.  It's the easiest of the ones I ran across ...

 

 

 

I used whipping cream instead of Cool Whip.

 

The next one I'll try says it's kind of like key lime pie and uses a shortbread crust.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

Ran across a few different recipes for Cantaloupe Pie.  Thought that sounded super interesting.  Made the first one yesterday.  It's the easiest of the ones I ran across ...

 

 

 

I used whipping cream instead of Cool Whip.

 

The next one I'll try says it's kind of like key lime pie and uses a shortbread crust.

How did it taste? Did you like it, or is it a "novelty" recipe that sounds interesting but ultimately disappoints?

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

How did it taste? Did you like it, or is it a "novelty" recipe that sounds interesting but ultimately disappoints?

I loved it.  Our melons are very sweet.  Will definitely make it again.