Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet – 6 Ways!

 

The end of National Watermelon Month is upon us, but certainly nowhere near the end of watermelon! We’re at the height of the season, and I couldn’t be happier! Take a look at these prices at my local grocery store:

I’ve always loved watermelon as far back as I can remember. Hot, Ohio summer days at the community swimming pool, coming home to Dad’s potato salad and grilling burgers in the backyard for supper… Sitting outside in the warm, muggy twilight afterwards, still in our bathing suits, with big icy cold slices… Juices all over my face and running down my arms as I tried to get every last bit of sweet fruit off the rind. I think those were the only times that my mother never yelled at us for getting messy with our food!

What Mom didn’t know back then, is that watermelon not only tastes good, but is so good for you, too. Watermelon is over 92% water (hence its name), and is incredibly hydrating. Not only that, but it contains more Lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable! Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and is what gives it and some other fruits and vegetables their red color.  It’s also packed with Vitamin A, C, B⁶ and Potassium.  So, there’s a lot more to it than just water and sugar! Who knew?

These days, I love eating watermelon in so many different ways and with so many different foods. Once you make this Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet, you can use it as a platform for desserts, smoothies, and even change up some of your favorite cocktails! Make sure you read the notes at the bottom!

 Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet

— Yields about 1 quart plus 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 4-5 cups Watermelon chunks
• 3 Tbs. Key Lime Juice
• 1 Tbs. Key Lime (or Lime) Zest
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 cup granulated cane sugar
• 1 cup water

Special equipment: Ice cream maker

Preparation:

If your ice cream maker has a separate core that needs to be frozen, make sure you do that well ahead of time.

Remove the black seeds from the watermelon. There is no need to remove the white “seeds” – they will disintegrate during the pureeing process. See notes.*

Puree the watermelon in either a blender or in a bowl, using a hand blender. Add the Key Lime juice, zest, and salt. Blend until smooth.

Pour the water and sugar into a small saucepan, and bring it to a boil over high heat. When it comes to a boil, give it a stir to make sure that all the sugar is dissolved. Allow the liquid to boil rapidly until it reaches 240º F on a rapid-read or candy thermometer. This will take about 12-14 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes. As it cools, the syrup will thicken, so don’t allow it to cool completely.

Add the syrup to the fruit puree in a stream, while blending completely.

Cover and refrigerate the puree for a minimum of 1 -2 hours.

Assemble your ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Turn it on, and pour the cooled fruit mixture into it while it’s running. Allow to process until thickened and soft-frozen – mine takes about 20 minutes.

Transfer the sorbet into freezer-friendly lidded containers and pop ’em into your freezer.

At this point, we can go any number of different refreshing directions!

1.  Dessert: Simply allow your sorbet to sit in the freezer for about an hour or two after processing, then scoop and eat! Delicious with other cut fruits, or on its own, this makes a bright finish to any meal, or as a palate cleanser between courses. Does anyone still do that anymore?

2.  Slushies: 

Absolutely nothing is more refreshing, cooling, and hydrating on a hot and humid day than a slushy made with this sorbet and a little crushed ice! Just put 1 cup Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet into your blender or blender cup with 1 cup crushed ice, and blend until smooth.  The kids will love it – and you!

3.  Smoothies:  Yes, I know. I told you a few weeks ago that the smoothie was dead. And I still say that the green ones taste like liquified lawn clippings. But, even I will admit that the smoothie has its advantages. It’s fast, nutritious, and easy to handle, especially if you only have one hand free.  Just because you’re having something healthy, doesn’t mean you have to suffer, though.  Make this smoothie and you’ll feel like you’re drinking a decadent milkshake! P.S. – I adore these “grown-up sippy cups”, don’t you?

Key Lime Watermelon Smoothie (makes 1 large serving):

• 1 cup Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet
• 1/2 cup fat-free Greek-style yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk of your choice
• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1 tsp – 1 Tbs flax seed meal (optional)
• 1 tsp – 1 Tbs hemp seed (optional)

Put all ingredients in your blender and let ‘er rip until smooth! Loaded with protein, calcium, lycopene, potassium, Vitamins A, B⁶, C, and fiber, this delicious smoothie will keep you going all morning or afternoon!

Now for the really fun stuff!

4.  Frozen Key Lime Watermelon Daiquiri (makes 2 servings)

• 1 cup Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 2 oz. silver rum (preferably Florida-made!)
• Lime slices and sugar for garnish (optional)

Place all ingredients, except the lime slices and sugar, into a blender and blend until smooth.

Put some sugar into a shallow dish. Rub the outer rims of the glasses with a piece of lime and dip the rims into the sugar. Tap off any excess. Pour the frozen daiquiris into the glasses. Cut a slit into each lime slice to garnish the rims.

5.  Frozen Key Lime Watermelon Mojito (makes 2 servings)

• 1 cup Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 2 oz. silver rum (preferably Florida-made!)
• 6 large mint leaves
• 2 sprigs of mint for garnish

Place all ingredients, except the whole mint sprigs, in a blender and blend until the mint leaves are chopped super-fine. Pour into glasses and garnish with mint sprigs.

6.  Frozen Key Lime Watermelon Margarita (makes 2 servings)

• 1-1/2 cups Key Lime Watermelon Sorbet
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 1 oz orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or Triple Sec)
• 1 oz Tequila
• small wedge of lime (to wet glass rims) and kosher salt for garnish

Place all ingredients, except the lime and salt, into the blender and blend until smooth.  Place some kosher salt into a shallow dish. Rub the lime wedge around the outer part of the glass rims, then dip the glasses in the salt. Tap off any excess. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

*Notes:

Those little white “seeds” in “seedless” watermelons are technically not seeds at all, but rather sterile seed coats that never developed into seeds, and don’t detract from the watermelon’s deliciousness. You probably wouldn’t even notice them in your mouth, if you hadn’t seen them first! They will completely disintegrate into the fruit puree, so don’t give them a second thought.

Why did we make a sugar syrup for the sorbet? Isn’t watermelon sweet enough on its own? Well, usually watermelon is pretty sweet in its natural state, but freezing anything reduces its sweetness. So, there are actually two reasons we made the syrup. The first is to bump up the sweetness, so the end product will taste the way you want it to. The second reason is to make the sorbet’s texture a little smoother and reduce the sharpness of the ice crystals as it freezes. If you don’t want to make the sugar syrup, you can substitute with one cup of corn syrup. Relax! There’s nothing wrong with corn syrup you buy at the grocery store. Don’t confuse it with the High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) used by large commercial food companies. It’s not the same thing, and you can’t buy HFCS at the grocery store. Read the ingredients label on the corn syrup bottle, though. Some store brands of corn syrup actually contain HFCS, and you don’t want that. Only buy good quality corn syrup, such as Karo. If you’re still squeamish about it, make the sugar syrup.

Just like ice cream, this sorbet will stay fresh in your freezer for several weeks.  However, you will need to remove it from the freezer about 15 minutes ahead of time to allow it to soften a bit for use, if you freeze it for more than several hours after making it.

As you can see, once the sorbet is made, pretty much all the work has been done and you’ve got the perfect base for any number of icy treats!

For dozens of more beautiful watermelon recipes, both sweet and savory, and more information about this incredibly delicious and versatile fruit, visit Watermelon.org. They also have all sorts of promotions, carving contests, and more, so be sure to “Like” and get notifications on their Facebook page, and follow @All4Watermelon on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, for the latest inspirations!

This post was sponsored by the National Watermelon Promotion Board. All opinions are my own, as always. So, what else is new?