This recipe is Alex Sunins’s own. He has become my best reader and a real partner on this site, the kind who devises a dish, cooks it, photographs it and sends me every measurement without being asked. This chilled melon soup is entirely his. Thank you, Alex, truly.
Chilled melon soup is sweet, cold and blended smooth, made with ripe melon, a light sugar syrup and a squeeze of lemon. It takes about 15 minutes to blend, plus a few hours in the fridge. It is exactly what you want when it is too hot to cook.
This one is not mine. It comes from Alex, who by now is my best reader and honestly more of a partner on these recipes than someone who just writes in. He sent it over during the heatwave that is roasting half the world right now, and the timing could not have been better. I am in Tunisia melting as I type this, so a cold bowl of melon sounded like heaven.
The clever bit is Alex’s syrup and lemon trick, which means the melon does not even need to be perfectly ripe. That one detail changes how you shop for it. I have written his full method and his tips below, in his own measurements.
Cooked this recipe? Send a photo or tell me what you changed at fans@gordonramsayrecipes.uk and I’ll share your experience live on this page.
Chilled Melon Soup
Course: SoupsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes3
hours170
kcal3 hrs 15 min
My best reader Alex’s chilled melon soup, sweet and refreshing, blended from ripe melon, a light sugar syrup and lemon, then chilled and served with grapes, crème fraîche and mint. A cooling bowl for hot days, devised and tested by him.
Ingredients
1 medium cantaloupe or charentais melon
200ml (7 fl oz) water
70g (2½ oz) caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
- To serve:
A handful of red grapes
4 tbsp crème fraîche
Fresh mint leaves
Directions
- Make the syrup: Heat the water and sugar together until the sugar dissolves, then take it off the heat and leave to cool for 15 minutes.
- Prep the melon: Halve and deseed the melon, cut the flesh away from the rind, and chop into rough chunks.
- Juice the lemon: Roll the lemon firmly on the worktop first, then halve and squeeze out the juice.
- Blend and chill: Blend the melon with about 180ml of the syrup and the lemon juice until completely smooth. Pour into a jug and chill in the fridge for 3 hours.
- Serve: Pour about 125ml into each chilled glass. Add a few grapes, a spoon of crème fraîche and a sprig of mint.
FAQs
Does the melon need to be ripe for chilled melon soup?
No, and this is Alex’s best tip. A slightly under-ripe melon is actually easier to work with, because a fully ripe one goes so soft it is a pain to cut into chunks.
Ripeness barely matters for flavour here anyway. The syrup brings the sweetness and the lemon brings the acidity, so the melon just needs to bring its colour and its fresh, watery base.
What is the best melon for this soup?
Alex uses cantaloupe or charentais, the orange-fleshed melons, which give that soft coral colour and a gentle honey flavour. One medium melon blended down to about 600ml for him, which was enough for four small glasses.
Watermelon would be too watery and thin, and honeydew is milder and paler. Stick with the orange ones for the best colour and body. If you like cooking with melon, his watermelon and feta salad puts it to work in a savoury summer dish.
How do you make the sugar syrup?
Heat three parts water to one part sugar until the sugar dissolves, then take it off the heat and let it cool for about 15 minutes before it goes near the melon. Alex makes a little extra, since a warm syrup always looks like less once it cools.
You will not use all of it. About 180ml is plenty for one melon, so keep the rest in a jar in the fridge for the next batch.
Why add lemon to a sweet soup?
Without it the soup can taste flat and one-note sweet, almost sickly after a few spoons. The lemon lifts it and gives it that clean, cold edge that makes it refreshing rather than just sugary.
Add the juice of one lemon to start, blend, then taste. If your melon was very sweet you might want a touch more.
How long does chilled melon soup need to chill?
Give it a full 3 hours in the fridge. Alex chills his in the fridge rather than the freezer, which keeps the texture smooth and pourable instead of slushy.
It is best served properly cold, so chill the serving glasses too if you can. Warm soup on a hot day is a sad thing. For another cold, fruity pudding when it is hot, his strawberry glory is all cream and summer berries.
Is there a savoury version of chilled melon soup?
Yes, and it is worth knowing about. Gordon Ramsay has a chilled melon soup in his Fast Food book that goes the other way entirely, savoury, with a white crab garnish, apple and mustard spooned into the middle.
So the same melon base can swing sweet like Alex’s or savoury like Gordon’s, depending on what you spoon on top. If you want a cold savoury bowl instead, his chilled tomato gazpacho is the classic one. Alex’s is the one for a hot afternoon when you want something closer to a dessert.
