SC - Re: SC: Watermelon Rind

[Stefan li Rous]

Genevia asked:

>OK David/C. Can you find us a recipe from period ? I've got one or two
>from my grandmothers' I'd like to compare them to. Any suggestions on
>where to look? Where were they Grown? ...

The following messages are a few of the messages on watermelon in the 
fruits-msg file in the FOOD section of my Florilegium:
fruits-msg       (119K)  1/16/98    Medieval fruits and fruit dishes. Recipes.

I'm afraid I have nothing in there specifically on pickling the rind, though.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net

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From: Uduido at aol.com
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 22:17:47 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SC - Watermelon

In a message dated 97-05-01 19:49:46 EDT, you write:

<< is watermelon period >>

Watermelon is period.

"Citrullus vulgaris. Native of  tropical Africa....Has been under cultivation
for centuries in India and Egypt; is shown in early Egyptian paintings andd
described in Sanskrit Of the four known species three are African and one is
Asiatic."

I have also seen at least two period paintings where watermelons are clearly
depicted and of course, the recipe I posted was taken from Coriadoc's
"Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks> "The Baghdad Cookery Book"
which translation clearly states watermelon.

Lord Ras


From: Uduido at aol.com
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 21:00:22 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: SC - Watermelon

In a message dated 97-05-02 03:46:37 EDT, you write:
<< these mellons, however, do contain a great deal of moisture and are what
the 
 Bushmen survive on during the dry season.  It is possible that the mellons
seen 
 in the illustrations and mentioned are these bitter mellons.>>

No the illustrations clearly show a cart containing the big oblong striped
watermelons. One of the paintings was French and one was German.
 
 <<Do the references sited above say anything about the mellons being sweet?
 That would be the best way to tell which are being refered to.>>

Unfortunately, no. However, the bitter watermelon that you speak of is in all
probabability the "citron" which is very bitter until it is candied or other
wise processed. Another possibility is that the melon to which you refer is
another species of plant . With the exception of citron, all known species of
watermelon are relatively sweet.
 
Lord Ras


From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 20:02:33 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: SC - Watermelon

>My apologies to everyone on the list.  I have just completed some more
>investigation and the watermelon did, indeed, origionate in North Africa and
>was brought to the Americas.  I still wonder about whether it was sweet or
>whether ours today is a descendant of the bitter melons I mentioned above.
>
>Linneah

Ibn Battuta talks about delicious melons. It seems clear from that and
other period Islamic references that there were a variety of different old
world melons, many of which were not bitter. As to watermelon in
particular, I can't say, but I see no reason to identify it with the bitter
melon you mentioned.

Modern Chinese cooking uses something called bitter melon, but I see no
reason to assume it is the same as what you mentioned.

David/Cariadoc
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