Episode 3: The Great Watermelon Heist

Ford On Food

When I was a youngster, I swiped a watermelon from a neighbor’s property. I stealthily crawled under his barbed wire fencing behind his chook shed, and with military precision pinched the biggest melon I could roll back to my yard. With great difficulty, I hoisted the melon into my tree house and greedily ate my prize. This was soon followed by a monster belly ache from Hell, and the following day my neighbor warned me that if he ever saw me pilfer one of his melons again, he’d set the dogs on me. Obviously, Watermelons are from the melon family. They are grown in both tropical and subtropical climates. The biggest producers are China, Turkey, Iran, Brazil and parts of the US. Watermelon is often a large round or oval shape, with dark green skin and deep-pink flesh and black seeds. However, some varieties have pale green skin, some have yellow or white flesh, and many contemporary varieties are seedless. The inside texture should be firm and very juicy, as per its namesake. The flesh should be sweet and perfumed in flavour. Watermelon can be eaten on its own, made into frozen sorbet, or used in tropical salads. I’ve even seen it grilled on a barbecue.