Cantaloupe-Ginger Spritzer
Cantaloupe-Ginger Spritzer
The sweet cantaloupe gets an even sweeter kick with homemade simple syrup. Add in a little seltzer water and garnish with fresh ginger and cantaloupe chunks for a restaurant-quality beverage that will earn lots of thumbs up.
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- chop :
to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.
- simmer :
to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.
- slice :
to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.
- strain :
to separate liquids from solid foods or remove bigger food particles from smaller particles using a perforated or porous device like a strainer, sieve, colander, or cheesecloth.
Equipment Checklist
- Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
- Small saucepan
- Cutting board
- Kid-safe knife
- Dry measuring cups
- Liquid measuring cup
- Wooden spoon
- Strainer
Ingredients
Cantaloupe-Ginger Spritzer
- 6 inch piece fresh ginger root
- 1/3 C granulated sugar
- 1/2 C water
- 1/2 cantaloupe
- ice
- bottled seltzer water or club soda
Instructions
Cantaloupe-Ginger Spritzer
slice + simmer
Have your kids slice a 6 inch piece of ginger root into thick coins. Next, they can measure and add the sliced ginger, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water to a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
strain + pour
After the ginger syrup has cooled, strain out the ginger pieces, and pour the syrup into a blender (or pitcher for use with an immersion blender).
chop + blend
Have your kids chop 1/2 cantaloupe into pieces and throw them into the blender with the ginger syrup. Blend the cantaloupe and syrup together.
serve
Add ice to each glass, pour in the cantaloupe ginger syrup until 1/4 full, and top off with seltzer water or club soda.
Hi! I’m Cantaloupe!
"I'm so happy to be part of your recipe today! I'm a variety of muskmelon with firm and juicy orange flesh. People often eat me with breakfast and in fruit salads and desserts. Because I'm made up of 90 percent water, the great taste of a juicy, sweet cantaloupe comes with a very small caloric price: only 50 calories per 6-ounce slice!"
History & Etymology
- Cantaloupe derives its name from the town of Cantalupo, Italy, where cantaloupe seeds arrived from Armenia and were planted in the papal gardens in the 16th century.
- Cantaloupe has plenty of relatives! It is a member of a vine-crop family known as Cucurbitaceae, which includes other melons, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, and gourds. It is thought that they originally grew in the wilds of India and other parts of Asia.
- Explorers brought cantaloupe to the New World in seed form and later saw it cultivated by Native Americans.
- Of all the melons, cantaloupe is the most popular in the United States!
- Colorado Rocky Ford Cantaloupes have been grown in the Arkansas River Valley since 1887.
Anatomy
- North American cantaloupes have a light yellow and green net-like rind or peel. When you cut one in half, you will see that its firm, moderately sweet flesh is orange with seeds in the middle.
- Cantaloupe sizes range from 4 to 7 inches in diameter, and they weigh between one to eleven pounds.
- How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- It takes cantaloupes 3 to 4 months to grow before they are mature enough to be picked.
- When choosing cantaloupe, do not pick one with the stem still attached, which means the fruit is immature.
- Look for melons with a yellowish tint to the rind and a strong melon smell. Use your thumb to press on the cantaloupe rind. The cantaloupe should yield to gentle pressure when it is ripe.
- To ripen a cantaloupe at home, leave it at room temperature for two to four days. However, if it is already ripe, refrigerate it until ready to eat.
- Don't forget to wash your cantaloupe thoroughly before cutting it! The surface of the rind could have harmful bacteria, like salmonella.
- After cutting a cantaloupe, wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to three days until you're ready to eat it.
- Cantaloupe seeds can be roasted and eaten like pumpkin seeds.
- You can eat cantaloupe by itself for a snack or with breakfast, or slice, cube, or blend it and add to salads, soups, sauces, desserts, sorbet, granitas, or drinks.
Nutrition
- Cantaloupe is an excellent source of vitamins A and C and beta-carotene. These nutrients are antioxidants, and when they are present in the food we eat, they help protect cells and fight disease.
- Cantaloupe also contributes to fiber intake, and fiber aids digestion and helps lower bad cholesterol levels.
What is a Spritzer?
- A spritzer is a refreshing, chilled white wine beverage with added club soda or sparkling mineral water. The name comes from the German word "spritzen," which means "splash." The drink is popular in summer, and because the wine is diluted, it has less alcohol and fewer calories.
- Kid-friendly, non-alcoholic spritzers are made with fruit juice instead of wine. The sparkling water dilutes the fruit juice as it does with wine, which lessens the amount of fructose or added sugar in the drink.
- "Apfelschorle," a German apple juice spritzer, is a popular drink in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
The Yolk's On You
Did you hear team Ginger and team Turmeric will play each other for the championship?
I don't know which team to root for!
The Yolk's On You
What did the one melon say to the other melon when they fell in love?
We’re just too young ... we cantaloupe!
That's Berry Funny
Why did the cantaloupe jump into the water?
Because it wanted to be a watermelon!
The Yolk's On You
A skeleton walks into a restaurant and says…
"Waiter, I'll have a ginger ale and a mop."
