WATERMELON LORE.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 383, 10 September 1903, Page 8

WATERMELON LORE.

rrop-r Wnjr to Serve to Have the Melon at it* Heat—l'rcservlßff Kind, Et«. Southerners declare that people of the north spoil watermelons by too much chilling; that, like strawberries, they need the warmth of the Klin in them; but the weight of r-pinior seen.s to be on lite side of the ice box. says the Washington Star. A novel way to dim a melon is tc citl n ripe one into halves and seen' out the pink flesh, rejecting all seedsLay on a platter, and, with a stive? fmk. break into small pieces. Add pound of powdered ru-rar nod the juice of a lemon. Turn into a f r< > ;er, pack with iee and, salt and turn slowly for 15 or 2<» minutes until the mixture is mushy. Serve ir gla-.-es, with the addition of a tea spoonful of sherrv to each glass if de-sir-d. It it now considered n violation of the canons of good taste in table service to offer watermelons with thi rind on. Split tho melon in two lengthwise, and with a large spoor and a rotary twist of the wrist seooj o:it the luscious pink flesh in conesi aped pieces. Arrange "on n bed o' gr< en leaves or cracked ice and you wil! have a picture for the eye as well as a delight to the palate. Cut in this way. which gives no waste, a goodsized melon will serve 15 or 20 people. Watermelon rind preserved, and then dried out in the oven, is quite as good as citron for cake, minee pie. plum puddinw and tutti-frutti ice cream. In preserving watermelon rind, peel off the green part and cut in thin strips. For five pounds of rind put one quart of water and a pint of vinf car over the fire. When it comes to a scald add the rjnd. boil ten or twelve minutes, remove with a sksmitifr and drain. Have ready a sirup, allow rg three and a half pounds of cug:!r to a pint of water. Let it come to a good boil, skim and add the strips of melon with two ounces of grei n ginger cleaned and sliced. Cook about three-quarters of an hour, or until tender enough to p'eree with e straw. Remove the irt!on strips with a skimmer ar-d lay ou a pin iter Con'irue boiling the sirup until reduced to one-half. Put the melon in a glass jar, excepting what you wish i to dry to use in place of citron, and fill the jars to overflowing with the boil'n : sirup. Watermelon rind is excellent made Into c sweet pickle. Coo 1 .-: the strips of r-.? : !--n in clear water until nearly tend.-: - , then remove with a shimmer and drain. Make a spiced pickle, allowing to every eight pounds of melon a pint of vinegar and three pounds of suyar. Mix together a half tea spoor, fill each of ground cloves and mace and a teaspoonful each of cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Tie in a cheesecloth bag and add to the sirup. Cook the melon in the sirup until perfectly tender; remove the melon and cook the sirup until reduced down to one-half. Put into jars and seal while still scalding hot. "Wh»! a it seems quite as wasteful and ridiculous an excess as painting the !;'y or throwing perfume on the Tiolrt to attempt any improvement upon the watermelon au naturel, a charge from the stereotyped way of doing things is sometimes desirable. At a recent luncheon the first course was chilled melon, which had been prepared fn this wise: All the center of the melon was scooped out, rejecting the seeds. This was broken with a silver fork into small pieces, then put into a freezer with the addition of half a pound of powdered sugar and the juice of a lemon. The freerer was packed in salt and ice and ttimed slowly for 15 minutes until a mush-like consistency was obtained. This melon frappe was served in glasses with a teaspoonful of sherry added to each glass.