Sunshine Melon Sodas
Sunshine Melon Sodas
Get ready for a super refreshing drink perfect for a hot summer day! Sunshine Melon Sodas combine sweet honey with the bright and juicy flavor of melons, and then sparkling water fizzes the whole thing up!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- adjust :
to change seasonings or consistency to one's taste or to alter portion sizes.
- 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.
- pour :
to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.
- taste :
to put a bit of food or drink in your mouth to determine whether more of an ingredient is needed to improve the flavor.
Equipment Checklist
- Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
- Cutting board + kid-safe knife
- Dry measuring cups
Ingredients
Sunshine Melon Sodas
- 1/2 small cantaloupe or honeydew melon
- 3 C sparkling water
- 1/4 C granulated sugar or honey
Instructions
Sunshine Melon Sodas
chop + blend
Start by roughly chopping 1/2 of your favorite melon (I recommend cantaloupe or honeydew) and adding them to a blender. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and start blending. Add 3 cups of sparkling water and blend some more. You will want this mixture to be as smooth as possible to avoid too many chunks in the soda.
pour + taste + adjust
Pour a little bit into your cup, taste, and adjust the sweetness to your liking. Once the drink is sweet and sour to your taste, raise your glasses and say "Cheers" in Korean, “geonbae" (kahn-bay)!
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.
Let's Learn About Asia!
- Asia is the largest continent on Earth in land area and population. About 8 billion people live on our planet, and 4.7 billion people live in Asia—over half! It takes up almost 30 percent of the world's total land area.
- As a comparison, North America is the third largest continent in land area, covering 16.5 percent of Earth, and it is the fourth largest in population, with almost 600 million people.
- The continent is divided into six main regions: North (Siberia), South, Central, East, West, and Southeast. A partial list of Asian countries includes China, Japan, and South Korea in East Asia; the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia; India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in South Asia; Iraq, Israel, and Turkey, in West Asia; Russia in North Asia; and Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan in Central Asia.
- Asia borders Europe in the West, although the border is not strictly geographical since Asia and Europe are both part of the single continent of Eurasia. It borders Africa in the Southwest, the Arctic Ocean in the North, the Pacific Ocean in the East, and the Indian Ocean in the South.
- Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Mesopotamia (Iraq) are the four cradles of civilization in the Old World, where early human settlements began.
- There are many different languages, ethnic groups, cultures, governments, religions, and foods in Asia.
- Asian cuisine is known for its use of spices, including chili pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.
- Different varieties of rice are a staple in most Asian countries. In India, basmati rice is popular, while in Thailand, they like jasmine rice. In some places, noodles are part of daily meals instead.
- The three types of Asian noodles are glass (cellophane), rice, and wheat, and some Asian noodle dishes are lo mein, ramen, soba, and udon. In addition, fresh vegetables are included in many Asian cuisines, like bok choy, cabbage, eggplant, and spinach.
That's Berry Funny
Why did the cantaloupe jump into the water?
Because it wanted to be a watermelon!
That's Berry Funny
What did the one melon say to the other melon when they fell in love?
We’re just too young ... we cantaloupe!
THYME for a Laugh
How do you make a cantaloupe shake?
Put it into the freezer until it shivers.
Lettuce Joke Around
A watermelon proposed to its sweetheart: “Honeydew, wanna get married?”
“Oh yes,” she replied, “but we cantaloupe!”
