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Salted Watermelon Ice Cream

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raw dairy free Salted Watermelon Ice Cream served in a old bread loaf pan

~ raw, gluten-free. dairy-free ~

Many years ago, I gave 80/10/10 by Dr. Douglas Graham a good shot.  I won’t go into great details about it, but it stands for; 80% of your food comes from complex carbohydrates, 10% from fat and 10% lean protein.  The whole idea of living mainly off of fruit was very appealing to me.

I LOVE fruit.  It seemed like a match made in heaven. I bought his book, his complete program on CD/DVD and attended a three-day seminar put on by Dr. Graham.  I wish I could report that I thrived and did well on the plan, but I didn’t.  It just wasn’t meant for my body at the time.  But what does all this have to do with my ice cream….

Watermelon!

On his plan, I was eating at least 3 pounds of watermelon (and other foods) a day!  I never grew tired of it, in fact, I just wanted it more and more.  Bright red… ice-cold… crisp… chin-drippingly good! As odd as it may sound, I grew up learning to put salt on my fruit. It brings out the natural sweetness.  I think it started with mouth-puckering green apples that we would pick off the tree.  To sprinkle Himalayan sea salt on my watermelon is a culinary-gasim to me.

With the hot weather being relentless as of late, the thought of watermelon and ice cream sounded downright appealing.  So I thought that I would put the two together. You can blend the flesh of watermelon straight into the ice cream, you can juice the melon, adding that to the ice cream or you can add chunks of fresh watermelon. I wanted… needed something different.

I didn’t want the ice cream to be a one-note-song if you know what I mean.  And often, I don’t care to add fresh fruit chunks to my ice cream, especially if I don’t plan on eating it right away and have to freeze it solid.  The fruit texture is off-putting to me at that point.  I decided to cut the melon up in 1×1″ squares and dehydrate them.  Before sliding the trays into the dehydrator, I sprinkled my favorite salt on top to bring out that watermelon burst of flavor.

The next technique that I threw into the mix here was to only dry the watermelon until chewy, not hard. I didn’t want to lace the ice cream base with hard “pebbles” of melon.  Between the salt and the dehydrating technique, the ice cream turned out perfectly… just what I was envisioning.  I used coconut as the base for this recipe which turned out to a great pairing and the coconut didn’t overpower the watermelon at all.  If you can’t or don’t wish to use coconut, you can make it with soaked cashews instead.  Another ingredient that will come up is my choice of using…

Sweet, loving, raw honey…

I used raw honey as my main sweetener for this ice cream. I did this because raw honey consists of sugars with smaller molecules than those of table sugar, so it’s more than twice as effective at lowering the freezing point of ice cream.  Faster freezing means smaller ice crystals, one of the keys for a creamy ice cream.  If you are vegan, you can try whichever liquid sweetener you prefer.

a close up of raw dairy free Salted Watermelon Ice Cream served in a old bread loaf panIngredients:

yields 5 cups batter

Preparation:

  1. In a high-speed blender, combine the coconut milk, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, stevia, and salt. Blend on high for 60 seconds until creamy.
  2. Place the blender carafe in the fridge or freezer for 1 hour.
    • If chilled in the fridge it can stay in there for up to 8 hours.  But don’t leave in the freezer more than an hour or it will freeze solid.
    • Pre-chilling it prepares it for the ice cream machine.
  3. Once chilled pour the batter into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
    • Make sure that the ice cream machine bowl is completely frozen before using.  Tip: Wrap the ice cream maker bowl in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer until the cooling liquid is completely frozen – about 10-22 hours. The plastic bag will help protect the bowl from freezer burn.
    • Due to the long freezing period required for the freezer bowl, it is best to keep it stored in the freezer at all times. This ensures that the bowl will be ready whenever you are.
  4. At the tail end of making the ice cream, add the watermelon, making sure that it gets well incorporated.
  5. If you like soft serve consistency, you can enjoy your ice cream immediately. If you desire a more firm texture, transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2-4 more hours.
  6. Before serving it is best to take the ice cream out of the freezer for about 10 minutes ahead of time so it can have a chance to soften.
  7. Eat within 1 month.  Remember to always store ice cream in freezer-safe, airtight containers to prevent freezer burn.

raw dairy free Salted Watermelon Ice Cream in the ice cream machine

Freezing Suggestions for Ice Cream:

  1. Use an ice cream machine.  Follow the manufactures directions.
  2. Freeze in popsicle molds or 3 oz Dixie cups with a popsicle stick inserted.
  3. Store the ice cream in the very back of the freezer, as far away from the door as possible. Every time you open your freezer door you let in warm air. Keeping ice cream way in the back and storing it beneath other frozen-sold items will help protect it from those steamy incursions.
  4. Ice cream is full of fat, and even when frozen, fat has a way of soaking up flavors from the air around it—including those in your freezer. To keep your ice cream from taking on the odors, use a container with a tight-fitting lid. For extra security, place a layer of plastic wrap between your ice cream and the lid.
  5. To soften in the refrigerator, transfer ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before using. Or let it stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Wish to make your own raw ice cream, wonder what machine I might recommend, and more? Click (here) to check out the Reference Library!

The Institute of Culinary Ingredients:

taking the ice cream machine paddle out to show you the raw dairy free Salted Watermelon Ice Cream

 raw dairy free Salted Watermelon Ice Cream and an old fashion ice cream scooper

10 thoughts on “Salted Watermelon Ice Cream

  1. Rose says:

    Ami Sue,
    I love salt on melon also. Did you ever eat gravy with cantaloupe? Just plain vegan flour gravy. Thanks for this recipe. Keep up the good work,

    Blessings to your health.

    • amie-sue says:

      Good morning Rose,

      Gravy on cantaloupe, nope, can’t say that I have ever tried that. As a little girl we use to eat at a buffet style restaurant with the extended family. The kind of place where you grab a tray and slide it down the counter and told the gal behind the counter to add certain foods on your plate as you pointed to them. Without fail, I always asked for mash potatoes, french fries, and gravy poured over both of them. Lord have mercy. Family use to laugh when they looked at my plate and I never understood why. Just a plate of all potato and gravy. hehe So thankful my ways of eating have changed.

      Anyway, sorry for the detour in thoughts… the mention of gravy on foods took me back in time. I hope you enjoy the ice cream. Blessings, amie sue

  2. amy schmidt says:

    This sounds interesting……gonna make up a batch and let you know how is goes!!

  3. Lorna says:

    I’ve read that one should eat watermelon by itself; what is your take on food combining?

    • amie-sue says:

      Hello Lorna,

      Yes, I do my best to practice eating melons by themselves but I don’t find that cause me issues in cases like this. It is relatively a small amount and I don’t eat ice cream every day. Do what feels best for your body. :) amie sue

  4. Holly says:

    This sounds so delicious! I remember my parents always putting salt on their melon and as a kid I thought it was so odd. I still haven’t tried it because I sure love it without. I can’t imagine it tasting any better than that! ha ha

    I will definitely be giving this recipe a try! I’ve never thought of putting watermelon in a dehydrator.

    • amie-sue says:

      It must be an old traditional thing or perhaps just certain areas of the states that do it. I for one grew up that way. I don’t always add salt to fruit, mainly on melons when I have them. :) Just kid of elevates things. I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know how it goes. Blessings and enjoy the weekend. amie sue

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