Meloncello from Scratch

 

Meloncello from Scratch is an easy Tuscan cantaloupe digestive to enjoy during summer. It is the base to make meloncello liqueur or to garnish your favourite ice cream with.

It seems like perfect timing to show another drink from scratch ! Quite soon, Tuscan cantaloupe will ripen and the best you can do with this gorgeous fruit besides fruit salad or prosciutto wrapped treat is to make a batch of Meloncello from Scratch.

Of course, you can make this drink with mellon but it’s taste is not that intense and rich in flavour.

What is a Tuscan cantaloupe ?

Tuscan cantaloupe is known for it’s distinctive green grooved stripes on the outside and sweet orange flash in the inside. It has small seed cavity. It has to be cleaned before slicing or serving some ice cream inside the mellon half.

The cantaloupe is a juicy fruit that’s related to the watermelon and honeydew melon. It also belongs to the same plant family as cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes, and gourds.

It is important to avoid cutting cantaloupe until ready to serve it.

I guess you would enjoy them draped with prosciutto which is the most popular way to serve them.

 

What is the difference between melon and cantaloupe?

Since they have similar taste and texture, they can be used interchangeably in most recipes. There is a taste difference in the two. Honeydew melon is slightly sweeter with a firm, green flesh, while cantaloupe has softer, orange flesh. For us, orange flesh is so much easier to work with !

 

Is Tuscan cantalupe healthy ?

Cantaloupe is loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, and is a good source of potassium, low in calories and carbohydrates and loaded with fiber.

Containing niacin and high water content as well, it all makes it an excellent diuretic.

There are so many ways to use Tuscan cantaloupe: add them to your smoothie or roast it.

To learn more about this beautiful fruit and find interesting recipes,  look here .

This photo shows how I prepared our batch to refrigerate for 10 days with Vodka:

You may consider this Meloncello from Scratch recipe to be the base for your Meloncello cream liqueur by adding heavy cream or whipping cream to get Meloncello cream liquer. That is how it looks once served:

If you enjoy fruit liqueurs, you may try our Limoncello from Scratch and Arancello from Scratch .

 

How should Meloncello from Scratch be served?

When serving, always pour it straight from the freezer, and preferably in chilled cordial or shot glasses. The colder the drink, the better the flavor. Perfect after lunch or dinner to support digestion.

 

How to choose ripe Tuscan cantaloupe ?

A cantaloupe that’s ready to eat gives a little when you press down on the stem area at the top.

To pick out the best cantaloupes, look for ones that are larger and feel heavy for their size, with no soft spots, bruises, cracks, other damage or mold.

Before you start reading the recipe, here is the photo showing cheese cloth i use for homemade liqueurs: