The next fruit flavor for my calculator sorbet series. When making this last year with very ripe local honeydew, this sorbet was a sleeper hit. The procedure is very simple, you just break down the melon as you normally would for eating, purée the usable portion, and measure with a refractometer. There is very little acidity relative to some other fruits, so you can input the Brix reading you get directly into this calculator. When first testing this recipe, I was also playing around with polydextrose for the first time. I like it as a functional inert solid, so it is listed. Although you can switch to using maltodextrin, which is a little more common.

The other difference for this sorbet is calling for slightly higher salt and fat content. You can use a neutral oil like a call for with the other fruit sorbets. However, the flavor combination does work particularly well if you choose to use a good quality finishing olive oil.

Recipe Steps

1. Start by preparing a honeydew melon purée, as discussed above. Sample the Brix using a refractometer, and calculate the rest of your ingredients. If you happen to have not enough honeydew purée, either prepare more or scale down the recipe to use exactly what you have.

2. If you have excess honeydew purée, measure the quantity called for by the calculator. Measure directly into the container you are going to blend this mixture into. Obviously being careful to zero the scale before adding the purée.

3. Separately using a precision scale, measure the sugars, stabilizers, salt and tartaric acid called for by the calculator. These ingredients can be combined together. Separately also measure the small quantity of olive oil or neutral oil.

4. If using a countertop blender, already have the mixture vortexing on a moderate speed. Sprinkle the dry ingredient mixture on top of the measured purée. If using an immersion blender, still place the dry mixture on top before thoroughly blending up and down the length of your vessel. Either way make sure the mixture is blended on a high-speed for at least 10 seconds.

5. While still blended, drizzle in the oil. If using olive oil, blend for as little time as possible while still emulsifying the mixture. Transfer into an airtight storage container.* Otherwise keep the mixture stored in the blender container, with the complete lid.

6. If using a standard ice cream churn: refrigerate for 6-12 hours, blend one more time, and process according to your specific machine.

*If using a blade-driven frozen dessert machine: instead transfer into the appropriate container for the machine. Place that in the freezer for at least 24 hours, process according to the instructions of your machine. Use the specific Gelato function if using the Ninja Creami.