What to do with a 40 lb cantaloupe?

O.K., maybe 10 lb, but it is huge. Bigger than Uncle Fester's head.
I'm thinking maybe sorbet, salsa, the Thai salad Germuska posted from the 2008 picnic...
Anyone have good cantaloupe recipes?

Got a foodsaver? Make cantaloupe icicle pops. I finally found the trick to making them the long way - is to pull the same length as the width of your foodsaver bag and seal strips (I also figured out that you need to seal twice between each pop so they're easy to cut apart.) Then cut the long side, fill the strips with a turkey baster, reseal the top and freeze.

Unbelievably good - as a matter of fact, I think I'll go have the last one in the freezer now...

Are you kidding me? I ate a large one for lunch last week. I bought another one today.

We love canteloupe or muskmelon with curry chicken salad. And it's a great packable Ravinia or boat picnic. Get a baguette or some snazzy crackers and maybe a bottle of bubbly and you are good to go!

Then there is the classic combo of proscuitto with melon, some bocconcini and maybe some slivered fresh mint.

At our house, good melons go quickly. Jerry's had some great Uncle Fester-head muskmelons the other day. A platter of melon goes great with any spicy ethnic food -- Mexican, Tex-Mex, Thai. I just put it on the table and it disappears.

--Joy

Cantaloupe gazpacho, with basil or mint. Excellent for summertime.

Alton Brown's melon sorbet (Sign apparently required). You won't be disappointed.

aschie30 wrote:Alton Brown's melon sorbet (Sign apparently required). You won't be disappointed.

gotta agree here. do follow the commenters and cut the sugar a bit, though.. it's only really necessary with mediocre melons.

Alton Brown's melon sorbet (Sign apparently required). You won't be disappointed.

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Thanks everyone! Great suggestions and I think I might have enough cantaloupe to try them all.

Did you get it from Genesis Growers? I was amazed at the size of the cantaloupes this morning at the GCM.

BR wrote:Did you get it from Genesis Growers? I was amazed at the size of the cantaloupes this morning at the GCM.

I did, in fact (through their CSA). I now have melon agua fresca, melon salsa and melon sorbet mixture a la Alton Brown in the fridge (I plan to make popsicles with some of the sorbet mix, though I don't have a food saver so I'll use popsicle molds).

BR wrote:Did you get it from Genesis Growers? I was amazed at the size of the cantaloupes this morning at the GCM.

So, the portions are big, but how was the taste? Are these good melons?

stevez wrote:So, the portions are big, but how was the taste? Are these good melons?

It was very floral. I'm not a huge cantaloupe-lover so I'm probably not the best judge. I tolerate cantaloupe.

Here's a pic of the melon agua fresca--it was quite pretty with a slice of lime and some chiffonade-d mint for garnish (not pictured).

I just purchased a very large Musk Melon and I'm planning to make
Melon Marmalade using an old Helen Witty recipe. Will let you know how it turns out.

Jyoti

I purchased a couple of melons from Seedlings and used them to make melon-raspberry jam. I got the berries from Mick Klug...he had two kinds this past Saturday, and the darker colored variety were delicious. Hard to keep the kids away from what I had set aside for jam. I mostly followed a Ferber recipe, but added vanilla and cut back on the sugar. It's just fantastic. The smell of the melon and vanilla cooking together has to be one of my all time favorites. Right up there with bacon. I think I'll do just melon and vanilla jam next week.

jygach wrote:an old Helen Witty recipe.

I really love her books!