SHF #21: El Bulli's watermelon iced lollies and frozen watermelon shots

Watermelon does not generally inspire.  TS Elliot's famous line was not "Do I dare to eat a watermelon?" and the love-sick poet of the Song of Songs did not wish to be comforted by watermelon.  Need I remind you we're talking about a fruit that derives its name from the fact that it's mainly water?  The most exotic watermelon dish I've ever heard of is Nigella Lawson's watermelon, feta, and black olive salad.  Other than that, I see only a melonscape of refreshing blandness.

And yet it's a summer staple for many of us, including me, particularly on wretchedly hot days when sweat clings to skin and an ice-cold slice offers a moment's refuge from the unrelenting heat.  There's something keenly refreshing about watermelons, peaches, and other "chin-dribbling" summer fruits that I find irresistible.

That's why, when I saw the announcement for Sugar High Friday #21, Ice Ice Baby, hosted by The Delicious Life, I immediately thought of two frozen watermelon preparations I saw in my El Bulli cookbooks.  At last, a chance to have some fun with the humble watermelon.

The first preparation is the watermelon iced lolly, from El Bulli: 1994-1997.  These lollies are made by macerating watermelon pyramids in sugar syrup for two hours, then freezing them.  The best part of these lollies is the sticky cardamom caramel, a perfectly sweet and spicy coating added to the frozen watermelon just before devouring one of these heavenly popsicles.

Our second watermelon preparation is frozen watermelon shots, from El Bulli: 1998-2002.  Watermelon shots are deceptively simple.  Take the smallest melon baller you can find -- the book recommends a half-centimetre, but the smallest I could find was slightly larger than that.  Now take a half hour to scoop out as many of these miniscule watermelon balls as you can -- Sisyphus had a boulder, we had countless miniature balls of fruit -- lay them out on a sheet to drain excess water, then freeze.

The point of this preparation is to concentrate the sugars in the watermelon, both to accentuate its crunch and to give it a more powerful flavour.  The watermelon shots are served with tiny sprigs of mint.  Without this last touch, these shots would be interesting and refreshing, but not especially exciting.  The addition of the mint is indispensable.  The minature balls pop in the mouth and the pungent mint gives a flavour punch, its contrast adding depth.

As refreshing as these dishes may be, the day I made them I stumbled upon an article that rocked my worldview of chilled watermelon.  Okay, "rocked my worldview" is a little strong, but it did make me raise an eyebrow and chuckle at the irony of what I was about to do.  Could it really be that chilling watermelon diminishes its nutritional value?  Damn those scientists in their ivory towers!

But thank goodness for cool watermelon on a hot summer's day.

Comments

[sarah]

something so utterly sexy about those ice lollies...

[Anita]

Those watermelon lollies look so refreshing! The cardamon caramel sounds like a perfect finishing touch. Do you do anything to the watermelon shots besides freezing the watermelon balls?

[julia]

Hi Rob!
haha, I don't care what those scientists say, I love the frozen watermelon with mint! Yum! I’m addicted to almost every kind of summer fruit but hardly experiment or do something with it, but this looks so sweet and fresh, I’ll definitely try them!! – (I’ve just started my own foodblog, very excited!) Like your blog very much!

[risingsunofnihon]

The frozen watermelon shots are intriguing! I have to admit I thought you meant shot as in contained alcohol at first, but they seem like the perfect frozen treat for a summer day. Right up there with frozen grapes!

[Vanessa]

i was completely expecting alcoholic watermelmon myself.... maybe after letting it drain it gets a nice squirt of vodka ;)

those lollies however, are fantastic. love that drip and cardamom is by far one of my favourite spices. i'm definitely very tempted to try it, i imagine they both have a fantastic crunch to them.

[gerald]

The watermelon shots look awesome. I'll have to try that sometime. It's amazing how simply by changing the way a product is cut (or in this case scooped), the texture and flavor can be dramatically altered - have you ever tried the peach caviar (recipe #685)?

[TBTAM]

Hi! Check out this post on Tudra Dreams all about agutak, a dish the Alaskan Indians make that has molecular gastronomy written all over it. THought you might like to try it...
http://tundramedicinedreams.blogspot.com/2006/08/picking-berries.html

[vanessa]

that is one cool post. trying to imagine the flavor/texture of the watermelon shots gets me all excited. I'll have to get the last of the watermelon at the farmers market this weekend before the pumpkins take over completely.