Honeydew and Poprocks.

So this was my favorite dessert ever invented to date...don't know why it took me this long to write about it but we're coming into springtime when the flavors are again becoming relevant (though one could argue that this is a perfect year-round dessert, especially in Hawaii)

Here's the description, long form...here we have some fresh Maui pineapple and honeydew brunoise topped with fresh coconut sorbet, honeydew foam, and sweet tea ice; surrounded by Frankie's Nursery Meli Kalima pineapple jelly and ginger popping sand.  Suggested eating:  sweep the sand into the middle of the plate and eat everything together.  Summertime in a plate.

The most interesting component of this dish is the inspiration.  I started with a tiny Parisian scoop (melon baller) and wanted to incorporate tiny melon balls into a dessert (a component which I've used in an amuse bouche at a previous restaurant).  I ended up with a honeydew melon soup which a coworker remarked reminded them of the honeydew melon flavored sodas and ice cream bars popular in Japan.  I had never heard of such things so I looked them up...honeydew soda floats????...think root beer float but vanilla ice cream and honeydew Fanta, what the crack!?

Reading more into this unfamiliar flavor combination I found people adding flavor descriptions such as ginger and ice tea...hmmm.  So I ditched the tiny melon balls (an idea to be resurrected at a later date for sure) and leaned toward soda float.

I always try to have a vegan dessert option on my menu so my first adaptation was easy, sub coconut sorbet for vanilla ice cream.  Coconut is one of my favorite fruits to make into a sorbet because it naturally makes such a creamy product it is almost like ice cream.  The recipe is simple...

Coconut Sorbet
3 cups fresh frozen coconut milk (Hawaiian Sun)
1 cup sorbet syrup (3lb sugar, 32fl oz water, 8oz glucose syrup; bring to a boil, remove from heat, strain, cool.  recipe from Baking and Pastry Mastering the Art and Craft, CIA)
Salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients and spin in ice cream machine, store in freezer for further use.

You know when you make a root beer float and you get crispy bits of foam around the edges.  This is my favorite part of the float and I had to recreate it in my melon soda float dessert.  I simply brewed a good strong English Breakfast Tea and added an equal part of simple syrup then froze the sweet tea to be scraped into a granite with a fork come serving time.

I decided to make a honeydew melon foam to emulate the float using an iSi canister and NO2 charges.  There's no recipe for the foam, combine honeydew with enough almond milk (keeping the vegan option while adding enough fat to make a foam) to the canister of a heavy duty blender to make a smooth puree.  Strain through a chinois and add enough Midori extract (bring the midori to a boil to cook out the alcohol) to have a strong melon flavor.  Blend in xanthan gum to thicken without making too gummy (remember this is all to taste, sorry, no recipe!).  Add the melon puree to the iSi canister and charge to consistency with NO2 cartridges.

For the ginger popping sand I made a vanilla sable crumb, candied ginger brunoise, and plain pop rocks around the edge of the plate.  Place a quenelle of brunoise pineapple and honeydew melon, top with a quenelle of coconut sorbet, honeydew melon foam, and a bit of sweet tea ice. Voila!