Let’s make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a pot. Turn on the burner and dissolve the sugar. When it begins to boil, turn the heat to low. Reduce the syrup for 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour the syrup into a pitcher. You can adjust the amount of sugar to taste.
Cut the muskmelon or cantaloupe in half crosswise. With kitchen shears, detach the seeds and fibrous core. Then, spoon the seeds and core into a mesh strainer.
As for the bottom half of the melon, run a knife along the inside of the skin leaving about 1cm (0.4") of flesh. Spoon the flesh into a clean plastic bag. You will be using the skin as a bowl later so treat it carefully.
Crush the melon flesh with your hands.
Spoon the melon puree into an ice mold and thoroughly freeze it in the freezer. Make sure to chill the melon bowl in the fridge also.
Press the seeds and core with a spoon to extract the melon juice. We will be making a delicious melon cream soda at the end of this video.
Let’s make the fresh melon sauce with the rest of the melon. Slice off a wedge. Remove the skin and cut the flesh into 2cm (0.8") pieces.
Place the middle pieces into a bowl and place the edges into a clean bag. Repeat the process for the rest of the melon.
Crush the edges of the melon pieces. Then, pour it into the bowl.
Add about one third of the syrup and the brandy. You can adjust the amount of syrup and brandy to taste. Chill the fresh melon sauce in the fridge thoroughly.
Let’s make the kakigori using the shaved ice machine. To freeze the puree completely, store the ice mold in the freezer for over 3 hours. Place it into the work bowl and cover.
Spoon the melon sauce into the chilled melon bowl.
Shave the melon into the bowl.
Occasionally adjust the shape of the kakigori and continue to shave the melon. Avoid freezing the melon bowl otherwise the beautiful texture of the skin will be lost.
Finally top with a generous amount of the melon flesh along with the melon sauce. You can also drizzle on sweetened condensed milk to taste.
Melon Cream Soda
Let’s make the melon cream soda with the saved melon juice. Put ice cubes and the melon juice into a glass. Add the syrup and stir to mix.
Pour in the carbonated water. Finally, top on the vanilla ice cream. Enjoy the fresh soda with the authentic melon flavor and natural color. This is amazingly refreshing!
Recipe Notes
This luxurious sauce isn’t heated at all so you can enjoy the fresh flavor and aroma of the muskmelon.
Taste buds become less sensitive to sweetness when food is frozen so add extra syrup to compensate.
The sweetest melon juice is found around the seeds so you should definitely make a cream soda with it!