Taste Treat from Afar...

While in Japan, Claude and I learned about a few taste treats we really wanted to try. One of these was 'melon ice cream'. We had this treat while in Tahara. First on Mt. Zao and then at the Japanese barbecue place for lunch.  The melon used there is a hybrid that is only grown on the Atsumi Peninsula. The outside is just like a cantaloupe but the inside is green like a honeydew. The taste is a cross between the two and delicious.

On our way home we tried to figure out how we could make this delicious dessert. We couldn't get the right melon but we could get a honeydew melon and come close. We own a little ice cream freezer we purchased just before we retired. It makes about 4 servings of ice cream and stays in the freezer ready to create whenever we have the need for an ice cream treat. 

I looked through the recipe book that came with the ice cream freezer and found a recipe for a fruit sherbet made with frozen fruits. I purchased a honeydew melon (they are much harder to come by this time of year). Claude got the half and half. 

Yesterday afternoon I put together this concoction and set it to churning on the kitchen counter.  

As soon as I thought it was finished churning, I took this quick picture and then put the ice cream (sherbet...whatever...) in the freezer in containers. 

Claude made a new soup recipe for dinner. So yummy on a rainy, cooler than usual, Saturday evening. We waited a bit after eating, then we had our 'Melon Sherbet'.  It was delicious. 

I find it very interesting that I taught a lesson about melons and ways to use them just before we went to Japan. Then we come across this unusual use of melons in ice cream while in Japan. I would never have thought about making ice cream out of honeydew melons unless we had tried this in Japan. Now we are hooked on this light flavor and will definitely have this again. Yet another example of how life circles around and fills in the gaps with wonderful experiences.