A watermelon on the vine growing toward delicious ripeness. Tipper Pressley.
Chapter 18
MELONS
Melons have always drawn culinary raves, and who can resist the allure of an icy watermelon, so bursting with scarlet goodness that it splits asunder with the merest insertion of a butcher knife? Unquestionably, watermelons take pride of place in this foodstuff category, but other types of melons certainly have their place. There’s even one widely grown “melon,” historically popular through much of the region, that isn’t even consumed. This is the Queen Anne’s pocket melon or “plum granny,” a miniature melon with an incredibly alluring aroma.
Among those offering tasty temptation to the Appalachian palate—in addition to old-time watermelons such as Georgia Cannonballs and Charleston Greys—are cantaloupes, honeydews and muskmelons (often called mushmelons). All are sweet, all contain considerable water and all are meant to be eaten fresh. You can freeze melon balls, but they require considerable space and don’t come close to matching the fresh version. Melons can also be used creatively in drinks.
A watermelon on the vine growing toward delicious ripeness. Tipper Pressley.
WATERMELON WITH SALT
Tipper’s Story
My parents, Pap and Granny, loved watermelon. Pap would bring one home and put it in the creek to cool. Then, of an evening, we’d take a knife, some towels and a saltshaker to the backyard to eat that sweet goodness. We’d spit seeds and talk while the stickiness ran down our arms. Sprinkling watermelon with salt really brightens the flavor.
Jim’s Story
Grandpa Joe loved watermelon to an unbelievable degree, and many of my favorite summertime memories revolve around eating it with him. In early summer, he’d sometimes buy a melon, but the sandy soil in the lower portion of his sprawling garden situated alongside the Tuckaseigee River was perfect for their growth. Whether store-bought or home-grown, a watermelon cooled in a washtub where a chunk of ice taken from the icebox floated in the water was pure heaven. We’d have seed-spitting contests, and his free-range chickens loved those moments, scrambling to get every seed as soon as it touched the ground. The moisture of the melon and liberal sprinklings of salt replenished and refreshed “a body,” as Grandpa put it, after hours of arduous work hoeing corn or performing some other garden chore.
Patriotic Melon Medley
Watermelons and honeydews ripen, at least in portions of the Appalachian South, in time for Independence Day celebrations. For an attractive color-themed offering at July Fourth celebrations, combine watermelon and honeydew balls with blueberries.
TIP: If you have trouble determining when a watermelon is ripe, there are a number of tricks to help you. If it hasn’t been picked, the little tendrils on the vine where it attaches to the melon begin to turn yellow when the melon is ripe. For melons from the store, thumping and looking for yellow on the bottom (the brighter the yellow, the better) helps. But possibly the best test is using a broom straw, although some scoff at the approach. It involves balancing a broom straw atop a melon. If it rotates appreciably from the initial resting spot, the melon is deemed to be ripe.
A group enjoying a picnic. Courtesy of Hunter Library, Western Carolina University.
—Jim Casada
Melon Balls with Country Ham
Fancy restaurants or hostesses offering lavish buffets often provide melon balls wrapped in thin slices of prosciutto. The meat is simply Italian ham that has been dry cured, and you’ll find that substituting salt- or smoke-cured country ham for the prosciutto works in taste-tempting fashion. The saltiness of the ham blends perfectly with the sweetness of melon, and as is noted in the watermelon “recipe” (actually, in this case, more a guide to eating delight) that begins this chapter, many consider a hint of salt essential with melon.
Using a fillet knife or strong, sharp cheese slicer, cut slices of meat from a country ham. They should be so thin that light shines through them. Cut to a size suitable for wrapping around a melon ball (or, alternatively, cut the melon in rectangular chunks). Hold the meat in place with a toothpick. Rest assured this will be a hit at picnics, family reunions and the like.
—Jim Casada
A pictorial tale of two seasons—a man with a halved watermelon stands on an iced-over Tuckaseigee River in downtown Bryson City, North Carolina. Courtesy of Hunter Library, Western Carolina University.