The Perfect Melon

[Jenise]

Yesterday I stopped at a roadside produce stand because it saved me the extra seven miles to a real grocery store, and all I needed were two items of produce for my portugese pork stew. This place doesn't usually carry very nice stuff, it's mostly the B grade stuff the chain stores pass up, but it was all going to end up in a stew so did I mind if the red bell peppers were misshapen? Of course not.

So my point is, this isn't where one expects to find exotic stuff you've never seen anywhere else, but lo and behold there were these tiny, baseball sized canteloupe-looking melons. They were called Perfect Melon, and the proprietor said they were almost red inside.

That got me excited. I'm a melon freak, and years ago in Santiago, Chile I had the best canteloupe I've ever had in my life. The flesh was almost red in color. They were $1 each, and I bought two.

Oh my! Finally, a dream come true, this is the melon I remember from Chile: dark reddish orange, like the color of sockeye salmon or carribean red papaya, and intensely flavored. Sweeter than the usual canteloupe, but more than that, they're robustly flavored. A canteloupe would taste dilute in comparison.

I'm going to go back today and buy a case. If you see these where you live, don't hesitate!

[Jenise]

Addendum: I went back and bought 20 more of these today and asked where they were grown. Turns out they're eastern Washington state fruit from the Yakima Valley.

Thanks for the heads up, Jenise. They sound delicious! I'll have to look for them.

I guess they'll never make their way to Tulsa.

[Jenise]

I guess they'll never make their way to Tulsa.

This could be the first crop of them, I don't know. But I do know the farm stand got ten cases and they sold out in two days. They had a little bowl of cut bits to taste, and everybody who tasted bought some. Maybe in a year or three there will be enough for Tulsa, too.

once (12 years ago) i came across one perfect melon.

i was travelling somewere south of neaples italy, and stoped at a truck-seller at the road.
i let choose him to sell me the best melon.

it was 12.5 kilo

i eat i all alone withhin one aftrenoon/evening

you see, i know what you are talking about

[Jenise]

Cute story, Albino. And is there anything better than a perfect food discovered while you're travelling, the things you just stumble over on some country road? Like the best grapes I've ever eaten--northern Italy, sitting on the hood of my car, reaching up into the vines which were high up on a pergola. No idea what kind they were other than some kind of black wine grape, but man, they were marvelous.

In the 1980's and early '90's, there was an old retired fellow just down the road from my house who grew the best watermelons around, the Black Diamond (aka Cannonball) variety. Some would always top 50 pounds, and his credo was "if it ain't perfect, I'll replace it". Only once did I ever bring one back. A wedge of one of those cold, super-sweet melons on a hot August day in Georgia was the best treat around for young and old alike.