Fresh cantaloupe and honeydew are two wonderful summer foods that I always look forward to. Even though they are great simply cut and eaten plain, sometimes I make them a little fancier when I'm having friends over. For this recipe I make a flavorful soup out of the melons and then turn it into little spheres that my guests can pop into their mouths.
I keep the preparation simple so the focus is on the flavor of the melons. Make sure you use in-season and ripe melons. It's an entertaining take on a favorite summer food. You can also turn it into a fun drink with the addition of saki or a sweet white wine.
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Because they use modernist ingredients, these amounts are given in metric by weight. For more information on how to measure modernist ingredients check out this article.
Combine 275g of the cantaloupe with the honeydew, lime juice, honey, and calcium lactate then blend to combine. Pour into spherical or hemispherical molds. Place a small cube of cantaloupe into each mold then place the molds in the freezer and let freeze fully.
Prepare the setting bath at least an hour before you want to make the spheres. Blend together the water, sugar, and sodium alginate then bring to a boil. Set aside and let cool.
Once the soup is frozen you can make the spheres. This can be done up to a few hours before the party.
Set up the rinsing bath by placing the water in a bowl. Set up the holding bath by adding enough water to a bowl to cover the spheres once they have been spherified.
Remove the frozen spheres from the freezer. Place the spheres, a few at a time, in the setting bath, being sure not to let them touch or they can fuse together. Let them set for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them into the rinsing bath. Swirl them gently to rinse off the outsides then place in the holding bath. Repeat for the remaining spheres.
The spheres can be held in the holding bath for several hours but the flavor will begin to leak out over time into the holding bath.
Place the sphere on a small bowl or plate, or a large spoon. Top with some prosciutto, blue cheese and a mint leaf.
This article is by me, Jason Logsdon. I'm a passionate home cook who loves to try new things, especially when it comes to cooking. I've explored everything from sous vide and whipping siphons to pressure cookers and blow torches; created foams, gels and spheres; made barrel aged cocktails and brewed beer. I have also written 10 cookbooks on modernist cooking and sous vide and I run the AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com website.
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