Let me just preface this post by saying that I love cantaloupe.

It’s definitely my favorite fruit. I’m not a big fruit-eater; I’ll eat the occasional banana drizzled with chocolate syrup, a grape or two, maybe a slice of apple smeared with peanut butter. It’s just that fruit is so…juicy. If I’m not thirsty, I don’t want it. Except for cantaloupe.

Every time I buy one, I bring it home, and cut it open with every intention of cubing it and putting it away in the fridge for midweek snacks. It never happens that way, though. I end up eating half of the melon as I’m cutting it up. The other half is usually gone within a day.

Last week I bought a cantaloupe, and miraculously forgot about it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Yesterday I excitedly cut it open, only to find that the flesh was hard and crunchy. Yuck! It’s time for cantaloupes to be ripe and sweet, soft and juicy. I knew if I put it in the fridge it would just sit there until it got moldy, so I decided to make it into sorbet.

I don’t know where I found this recipe…it’s possible it came from the Cooking Light bulletin boards, but I’m not sure. I didn’t use my ice cream maker, either. I just popped it in the freezer and scraped it with a fork when it was hard. It’s so yummy and sweet, so easy and refreshing, and so, so cantaloupe-y.

Cantaloupe Sorbet

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large cantaloupe, seeds removed, cut into cubes

Heat sugar and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until boiling; simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool mixture in refrigerator until completely chilled.

Puree cantaloupe chunks (in batches, if necessary) in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in sugar syrup. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Alternatively, place mixture in a freezer-proof container and freeze until solid. Scrape mixture with a fork to form crystals.

Makes about 3 cups sorbet.