Cooked Muskmelon (1919) ★

2:04 PM 1 star , 1910s , 20th century , dessert , fruit , interwar , united states 2 Comments

I was keen to try this recipe because it seems so different from anything we would do today. Plus it was taken from a vegetable cookbook, when today melons are considered a fruit.


Original Recipe:

COOKED MUSKMELON.
Miss Corson, in one of her lectures, gives the following directions for making a very nice dessert from muskmelons:—Make a rich syrup from a pound of white sugar to half a pint of water. Pare and slice the melon and boil it gently in the syrup five to ten minutes flavoring with vanilla or lemon. Then take it up in the dish in which it is to be served, cool the syrup and pour it on the melon. To be eaten cold.

The Verdict:
No. Just, no. I'm already so-so about cantaloupe when it's raw, but cooked is just wrong. It's all soggy and the texture is gross. It also definitely wasn't improved by sugar and flavouring. I couldn't even finish one piece. To me, this recipe is pointless. It's quicker, easier, and tastier to just eat the melon raw.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Vaughan's Vegetable Cook Book)

1 CANTALOUPE
1 pound SUGAR
1 cup WATER
LEMON or VANILLA EXTRACT

1. Cut the cantaloupe into small pieces, leaving out the seeds and rind.
2. In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Add the cantaloupe and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until tender. Flavour as desired.
3. Let cool before serving.