Wichita eagle., 1888-03-30
COOKED WATERMELONS.
WHAT A GENTLEMAN FROM THE
COUNTRY SAW IN NEW YORK.

SOUN ny SAW TN NE" rOnn.
Moro than One Way of plugging q
Watermelon-Many Methods of Serving
Invented by Communication Frit-
tiers and Candy.
More watermelons are consumed in New
York than in any other city in the world,
and the watermelon season is now at its
! height. One of the largest and finest OF the
200 0G0 watermelons that reached the metrop-
oils last week found its way into the cafe OF q
fashionable uptown hotel 1t was prepared
Tor use and placed in the ice box.
People from the country and the smaller
towns come to New York in great numbers
ut this season Of the year. and among the re-
cent arrivals was worthy gentleman from
little rural settlement in Southern Michigan,
who came to see bis brother, a Wall street
broker, from whom he had been separated
ever since they were boys together on the old
farm. The two brothers dropped in at the
cafe in whose ice box rested the big water
melon first mentioned. Let's have a water
melon" said the broker The rural brother
readily assented. "Will you have it plugged!"
asked the broker.
"Of course" answered the rural brother.
"Didn't we always plug melon before we
ate it when we were boys| The broker
whispered some order to the waiter, and
directly that ervitor returned with the big
melon aforem sntioned When he cut it it
seemed very juicy and aromatic. The broth
ers ate it greedily. The rural brother de-
clared that he had never tasted such melon
in bis life. 1t seemed to loosen and later to
thicken his tongue Finally he stared at his
broker brother and asked, George, whasher
masher wish shat meln?'
IT WAS PLUGGED"
George smiled and answered, at was
plugged"
"How pluggedm asked the rural brother
with a suspicious, not to say silly, leer.
George replied: "A hole had been cut in
the end of it and bottle of champagne and
q gill of brandy poured in. Then it was left
in the ice until it became perfectly cold. The
sweet juices of the melon mingled with the
liquor SO melloWed it that you did not taste
it."
The rural brother looked astonished, and
declared that he had never heard the like.
He had plugged melons when boy to find
out whether or not they were ripe, but he
bad never engaged in such expensive and
exhilarating plugging as the case in Ques-
ton. The next morning, when he had re-
covered from the effects Of the plugged
melon and was discussing its wonders with
his brother, the latter, who has become o
distinguished epicure, said:
at would surprise you, old man. to know
how many methods of serving watermelons
the gourInands have invented. Many prefer
plugged melon filled with claret, but for my
part nothing equals a shfsry melon. Good
pale sherry-and it is hard to get-should be
boiled down to almost a syrup and then al
lowed to cool. When it has reached the
proper temperature, pour it into the melon,
place the fruit into the ice box, and when you
are ready take it oEs and eat it, 1t more
nearly approaches the nectar of the gods than
any combination on earth. Then there is O
sort of sherbet made of watermelon juice. l
know of but one place in New York where
you can get it. The meat Of the melon is
compressed, tho juice mixed with wine and
the mixture placed in a freezer until fine
needles of ice begin to form in it. Then it is
served, and nothing can equal it as a cooling
decoction."
The rural brother was much impressed with
the epicuro'S eruditiol on the subject of the
watermelon. That evening at dinner he was
still further astonished when the epicure
ordered as an entree some watermelon frit-
terS and as a CONNECTION some candied water
melon. II should think the melon would
melt while they are cooking it or putting that
candy around it" said the ruralist.
FRENCH TRICK.
"That is a trick the French have taught
u.s. answered George. "They cover a piece
OF cold melon with delicate batter and cook
it so quickly that the fruit hasn't time to be
much affected with the heat. That is the way
these fritters were made. Then they take a
very cold piece of melon meat, immerse it in
boiling sugar, remove 1t instantly, and you
have the candied melon that you have eaten.
They raise the finest watermelons in the south
of France TO be found in Europe-although
they scarcely equal the melons we get from
Georga-and any cook from Southern France
VIII tell you all about preparing the fruit. In
France they do not allow the waste Of the
best part of the melon, which is the outside
If the watermelon rindS that are thrown
away during a season in this country could
be gathered, instead Of being allowed to
go to waste, ard mado into preserves half
the people in the United States who are
unable to enjoy the luxury of preserves during
the winter would have, at a small cost, all
they could eat of the most delicious preserves
known to the human palate. A little cheap
sugar, some lemon peel and limited degree
of skill in preparing the green portion Of the
watermelon is all that is required. Your
country people go hungry for delicacies that
grow all about you. This is not only true
with reference to melon preserves, but with
regard to other articles. You wait impa-
tiently for n salad until your lettuce is grown,
and ali the while you have had at your CON-
Inand material, if properly prepared, for the
finest salad known. | refer TO the stalks Of
the dandelion. You remember how we used
to have to pull up out Of the garden the
abominable weed that we called 'pusley.'
We have thrown away tons of it, and vet the
most delicate salad l have eaten in New York
was made of that same weed, 'pusley.'"
The rural brother looked astonished, made
minutes of the information that his epicuresn
kinsnan had given him and went home to
tell the boys how little they knew about
watermelonS and the women folks how
limited their knowledge is of cookery.-New
York Correspondence Globe-Democrat.
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