do you have a food memory that just SCREAMS summer?

mine is watermelon sherbet. well really it's my mom craving watermelon sherbet. I would always know that it was the epitome of summer when my mom would start going on and on about getting some. She'd buy it in the quart from a local place (they didn't sell anything bigger) and ALWAYS get a cone when she did.

This local place? has the BEST watermelon sherbet. I'm telling you – BEST. (also I used to get a shell coated soft serve cone after gymnastics here because – lyfe.)

as in: there's no way i could ever re-create it at home and have it live up to the memory.

so i changed it.

i changed it like crazy.

as in – i infused it with ginger and mint and made it extra creamy.

I know what you're thinking – “why the heck watermelon + ginger + mint?” ummmm because the flavor bible told me so. I bought the original one and the vegetarian one – SUCH A GOOD PURCHASE. <- p.s. not affiliate or anything (I don't know how to do that) just straight up amazon links if you're interested!

But anyway, the flavor combo is really subtle and unexpected. It's not BAM in your face its more mellow – i like that. ginger has such a kick I didn't want to go too heavy with it and have the sherbet be borderline spicy.

Full disclosure? I don't know if you can make this without an ice cream maker… you can certainly try – but I used my Cuisine Art one and was so happy with the results I probably won't try to make this no-churn. BUT. I do know others who know how to do that. like Jessica's no churn blackberry chip (but this is ice cream not sherbet).

have you wondered what the difference between sorbet and sherbet is (because I was wondering and had to look it up to see if they were different when I was naming this)? thekitchn did a really great article that explains the differences pretty well.

OH OH. btw, this stuff was really creamy, next time when i make it for myself I'd probably cut the cream in half – but frankie really liked it and kept asking if he could have a bowl after dinner all week – if that means anything at all to you.

as for me? my favorite way to drink it is plopped into a cute champagne chute! (with prosecco.) NOM. Prosecco is my faveee.

You should do this too! Make it a cute summer brunch thing! YES. invite all your friends and buy some nice champagne and make it a partay. it'll be worth it. and classy. so classy.

just be careful ^ clearly the bubbles have a mind of their own. (and they MAKE A MESS)

but its just sooooo pretty that I don't care. do you care? we can agree to disagree I suppose.

Watermelon Ginger Mint Sherbet

Author: Ashley Renee
Prep Time: 720
Cook Time: 150
Total Time: 14 hours 30 minutes

Scale

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 handful fresh mint leaves
1/2 inch ginger root
4 cups watermelon, chopped
1/2 lime
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer overnight – or for at least 12 hours.
Peel your ginger root and chop it into small pieces, somewhere in between dicing and mincing. Combine the ginger, mint leaves, sugar, and water in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Make sure to stir it at least once a minute. Remove the saucepan from the burner and allow to cool for five minutes. Once cooled, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth (you can use a fine mesh sieve – or just scoop out the mint leaves and ginger pieces using a spoon if you chopped them big enough).
In a food processor, combine watermelon, ginger mint syrup, and the juice from half a lime. Process until the watermelon is completely broken down. Add in the heavy cream and process gently – if you do it too long the mixture might start developing whipped cream peaks.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes. Transfer to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper or an ice cream container and freeze for at least two hours or until solid!