Tell Your Watermelon Story
If you've got one, spill it. Do you love pickling the rind? Spiking it with booze? Have you covered it with sunblock, thrown it in a pool and tried to fight for it?
Actually, a posse of surly neighborhood kids and I did just that when I was growing up. We'd split-up in to teams and see who could wrastle it up to "our side" of the deck first. Plenty of thrown elbows and underwater kicks. We'd always shake hands and eat the watermelon afterward, sunblock and all. After all these years, I can't believe any parent would let this go down in their pool! Nobody ever got (too) hurt, luckily. That's my story.
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16 Comments:
@Susquehanna, sounds like a blast!
I love watermelon so much when I was young I would even eat the seeds.
Then my papa said I would start growing them inside my stomach :p
ahaha that would be priceless!
hungrychristel at 10:18AM on 08/05/09
I used to have so much fun doing this as a kid...
I wasn't particularly good at it though.
it's such a perfect (and fun) summer fruit!
hmw0029 at 10:52AM on 08/05/09
@hmw0029: I've never heard of Suikawari before! It turns the watermelon into a pinata? So cool. I'd probably be horrible at it but it would be good for some laughs.
@hungrychristel: My dad told that tall tale to my nephew. The poor boy looked so terrified that I immediately assured him that Grampa was only kidding!
Susquehanna at 12:07PM on 08/05/09
When I was a little foodie, I spent summers with my grandpa in the Smoky Mountains. We would get a watermelon and put it in the ice cold mountain stream outside my great-aunt's cabin. At the end of the day, we'd haul it out, he'd cut it into it with his Case pocketknife and we'd eat the whole thing with salt on it. I can't eat them without thinking of that.
FoodieSearching at 3:43PM on 08/05/09
The other day, I bought and cut up a whole watermelon. It's the unripest thing I've ever encountered. I've been trying to think of what I can do with it. Maybe mix it with cucumbers for a salad? I really don't like any of the cheese-and-watermelon mixtures, but I thought about adding some mint to the cuke mix. Anything else that might be good?
Kerosena at 4:26PM on 08/05/09
@foodieSearching - hahaha I love your When I was a little Foodie... term. Hope you don't mind if I use it! ahaha
hungrychristel at 5:11PM on 08/05/09
@hungrychristal: OK with me! :)
FoodieSearching at 5:16PM on 08/05/09
@kerosena: Use it in this SE recipe for watermelon pico de gallo. I made some myself and can vouch for it's deliciousness!
Susquehanna at 5:20PM on 08/05/09
Hotlink didn't work. Here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/07/serious-salsa-watermelon-pico-de-gallo-spicy.html
Susquehanna at 5:24PM on 08/05/09
When I was a kid, we lived in an apartment above a drugstore (high class, eh?) One hot summer night, my dad and I were sitting in the kitchen and we heard a truck driving down the alley. We looked out the window and saw this stake truck full of watermelons (our kitchen window faced the alley). It was making a delivery to the restaurant that was a couple doors down.
Dad went down and chatted with the watermelon guy and bought one, cheap. He brought it upstairs and sliced into it. We ate the whole darned thing, one slice at a time, me and him. It was one of the best watermelons we'd ever had. Perfectly ripe. Sweet. Wonderful.
But that wasn't enough. "Should we get another one?" he asked me. "Yes!"
He went down and bought another one. And we started slicing that one up, and eating it, too. It was just as good as the first one. About 3/4 of the way through that one, we heard the truck starting up and we knew the guy was getting ready to leave with his magical watermelon truck.
Dad rushed down to catch the guy before he left. I saw the truck pulling away, and I stared out the window, wondering if dad caught the guy or not. And then there he was at the top of the stairs, this time with two more watermelons, one in each arm. I couldn't believe it. Two more glorious watermelons.
These weren't those wussy "personal-sized" watermelons, by the way. Those didn't exist back then. These were regular-sized watermelons. I was a kid -- youngish grade school age. But we killed off that second watermelon in no time flat.
But we weren't done. We started on the third melon, and between the two of us, before the night was done, we killed off three of the four watermelons.
I have no idea where my mother was, but I'm betting she wasn't home that night. And it was odd that my dad was home that early in the evening, because most nights he didn't come home until 9 or 10 at night. It was a memorable night, that's for sure.
We didn't have air conditioning back then, so I spent a lot of hot summer nights sitting near that window, trying to catch a breeze, and I'd listen for trucks in the alley, but I never saw another truck full of watermelons like that again.
dbcurrie at 10:14PM on 08/05/09
Not to be a shameless self-promoter, but I never appreciated watermelons so much as I did after doing a story about the watermelon farmers, brokers and buyers in southern Delaware and Maryland. It was SO interesting to hear about watermelon auctions and watermelon brokers...like, watermelon middlemen? cool!
The farmers transport the watermelons in refurbished school buses covered in hay--some of them are even school bus convertibles, with the roof cut off.
I feel a little pride now when I see watermelons from Delaware or Maryland...dorky, since I only spent a few hours with these people who spend their lives growing, sorting and selling watermelons.
inothernews at 2:25PM on 08/06/09
sbcurrie: what a great story to share!
chlamers at 2:40PM on 08/06/09
As a kid, I woefully participated in a watermelon eating contest at a 4th of July block party, along with all of the other kids on my block, and a few parents, as well. That afternoon in the hot California sun, I discovered that power eating was definitely not for me. It was not pretty. After that, I had an aversion to watermelon - for years.
It took me a while before I realized that I simply had an aversion to eating contests, which I still find highly distasteful. I am what I refer to as an ultra-sensitivo. I have a hyper sensitive palette, and I prefer to consume slowly, savoring every flavor and textural nuance. I would rather go hungry than gulp down a meal without experiencing, or even chewing it.
So, after a decade or two, I eventually forgave the watermelon for being the vehicle of my self torture on that unfortunate holiday occasion, and have since learned to embrace it's unique offerings as a member of the melon clan. Watermelon, as it turns out, is a fantastic ingredient. It is also best served chilled, and not after sitting for hours in the hot sun.
Nowadays, I celebrate the cool, refreshing aspects of watermelon in a number of recipes from salsas to sorbets. This year, my favorites were granitas (with, and without, vodka and mint), and a delightfully crisp watermelon, feta and mint leave salad. So good!!
Paula Maack at 2:47PM on 08/06/09
leaf, not leave
Paula Maack at 2:52PM on 08/06/09
My SO has his own saltshaker that he says shakes out the perfect amount for one bite. I like mine plain and barely chilled, he likes his almost frozen.
I like the convenience and size of the seedless, but I don't think they're as good as the old-fashioned kind. Besides that, they're not as much fun for the grandkids. I am proud to say that I taught them all how to spit seeds on target.
I'm growing Yellow Doll melons--they're about the size of baseballs right now. I've never grown this variety before; I hope they live up to the description in the seed catalog.
betteirene at 2:14AM on 08/07/09
I love all the stories. Thank you so much for sharing them.
Susquehanna at 10:03AM on 08/08/09