The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1888-08-02
PREPARED WATERMELON.
How to Add Flavor to The Popular
Fruit,

Now that the watermelon season is
on in its full glory, and the story
that a strike had stopped the impor-
tation has turned out untrue, word
may be in season as TO how TO pre-
pare a melon for eating. There are
many ways OF eating the splendid
fruit, and the recipes generally given
are long and intricate. There is one
method 80 easy that almost any one
may follow it. Get a good melon,
and if you can't tell for yourself by
that intuition which is the best
guide in such matters, then trust to
your green goods grocer's judgement.
Have the melon put on ice over
night, and in the morning see that
its surface is wiped dry. Then cut a
slit with long knife straight from
one side into the very heart of the
melon. Let the slit be an inch and a
half wide. Cut three other slits SO
that you can lift out the plug thus
made. Pour into the hole some good
claret. Let it spread through the
red spongy fruit, and pour some
more wine in until you have sue
ceeded in getting in at least pint
of the grape juice. The plug up the
melon and put it back in the refrigcr-
ator. After an hour or so you can
put in the rest of a quart of claret.
The melon will drink up the wine
and every part of the sponge will be-
come saturated if from. hour to hour
the position of the big egg-shaped
fruit be changed from side to side
and from end to end. The wine
should be put in from six to eight
hours before dinner time. An hour
or an hour and half before dinner
take out the plug and taste the fruit
You will find it surprisingly delicious,
and yet perhaps the flavor will be not
quite so pronounced as you like it.
In this event pour in from half pint
to whole pint of brandy. See that
that the melon is closely plugged and
wrapped up, and have it turned at
least twice and kept on the ice for
the next hour. 1t will then be ready
for serving.
Sometimes it is pleasant TO sur
prise guests with plugged melon.
Say nothing about wine having been
put in the fruit. and when it is
brought on the table take care that if
in the cutting any extra juice comes
from the fruit that some of it shall
go with each piece of melon. There
is an odd little italian restaurant in a
place in this city where its existence
would never be suspected, where one
night not long ago plugged water
melon was served. No one except
one of the diners knew about
it. When it was brought on
and the party began tasting what ap.
peared to be an ordinary watermelon,
there was instantly noticed change
in the demeanor Of every one. They
shifted in the air and looked at each
other, and then shifted again. There
was no suspicion then that the water
melon was gilmore than ordinary kind.
But after two or three mouthfuls some
one remarked the peculiarly rich taste
and the exquisite aroma, and then the
secret was out. There weren't many
people in the party, and the melon
was a fairly big one, but it was all
eaten, every bit of it.
Notwithstanding the splendid offer
ing to the palate that plugged water
melon makes, it is remarkable that
not many people have eaten it, and
that you can't get it readily at the
hotels and restaurants. Once in a
while some chef puts forth water
melon fritfars Or freezes the frnit hut
even if these forms were not costly
and difficult to obtain they would
soon tire the appetite. With water
melon soaked in wine it is different
If you like the fruit in its plain state,
You will probably like it better with
claret or brandy, and if you like to
eat lots of it plain you will want still
more OF it ''plugged."-Neoo York
SuH. ~