watermelon season has arrived.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Macenroe82

I like the ones we used to get when I was growing up. Long huge ones from the South with big black seeds you could spit or pinch a mile. Today's corporate seedless melons injected with sugar juice are just okay for me.

I buy mine only from some Amish down the street.
Big black seeds, and hella good.
It tastes like watermelon rather than a big red cucumber.
Will be a while before they have any for sale. End of June-ish, but worth the wait.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: TinySickTears

Very rarely do I get a water melon in the grocery store that is worth a darn.

When I grow them at home, it is a much better tasting melon. I do have a hard time telling when they are ripe.

The time to pick them is when the little curly vine across from where the melon is attached to the vine dries up. The stem that connects the melon to the vine will also start to dry up as well. That's when it's time to pick as nothing else is being delivered to the melon at that point. Melons don't ripen on the vine so once you see that stem or the curly cue thing across from it on the vine dry up, it's time to pick them.

a reply to: rickymouse

I'm on a strict diet of wood and gravel. What kind of gravel and wood do you think is best for me?

originally posted by: Spider879
a reply to: ketsuko

No salt Ketsuko, fresh or with rum , the way gwad intended it to be.

Heh, sorry. You are arguing against a savory-minded saltoholic.

And then you are up against the wall that rum is not my drink of choice ... I wonder what happens when you introduce them to tequila though ...

I suppose I will be in the minority (certainly an oddball) as I don't care for melons. I don't mind the smell of watermelon but, the smell of a cantaloupe can cause me to gag. I think I don't care for the texture of the fruit itself, it's odd to me.
My youngest daughter loves melons and insists I buy some nearly every week.
I also don't know how to tell, really, if they're ripe. I sort of just squeeze it and if it seems soft-ish then I assume it's good.

Here is how I deal with the salt issue: if the watermelon is ripe and really sweet, I don't use salt. If it isn't so sweet, I use the salt to bring out some of the sweet flavor.

a reply to: Natas0114

Pickled melon? Wow that sounds neat.
I have never tried salting it either but will give it a shot.
How much salt do you hit it with?

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: Natas0114

Pickled melon? Wow that sounds neat.
I have never tried salting it either but will give it a shot.
How much salt do you hit it with?

I don't know about the melon itself, but you can pickle the rinds. It's a very sweet pickle, and if you have carpenter ants anywhere around you, the brine is like bait to them! So make sure you clean up very well after a pickling/canning session.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

Would make a great Halloween gag.

Ok guyz & galz however you decide enjoy your water melon , remember this classic as your theme music...

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: Natas0114

Pickled melon? Wow that sounds neat.
I have never tried salting it either but will give it a shot.
How much salt do you hit it with?

not much...start out with just a touch cause you can always add more. cant take it off though.
i go a little heavier than most...just dust it lightly.

i also like using fine salt for my watermelon. i have some sea salt that was ground into a powder. thats what i use for watermelon. i dont like big crystals.

whoops dbl posty..sorry.

a reply to: Sheye

I'm in Alberta Canada and I'm finding the same issue. Mealy is a good term. Around here watermelon cost a small fortune and it's a total crap shoot on getting a mealy one or a good one. If I were to pick up 5 watermelon chances are 4 of them would be mealy, not fit to eat.

a reply to: ketsuko

Pickled watermelon rinds are simply awesome.
I made it once, was a bit of work/time....as you have remove all the green skin and then salt the rinds overnight.

But, so worth the effort.
And the finished product is such a nice shade of green.

a reply to: TinySickTears

They are called summer hams in some parts of the south

If anyone wants a quick/easy potluck make and take:

Get yourself a big, sweet, ripe round melon. Cut it into thick rings. Then punch our round pieces of melon with a biscuit cutter. For serving, you can put those round circles of melon into cupcake papers or foils. Then top your circles with some whipped topping of some kind and top that with a berry of your choice (black, blue, rapberry). Maybe garnish with some fresh mint leaves.

Voila! You have now made watermelon cupcakes. Keep 'em cold and take 'em to the picnic.