"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon 15 Aug 2005 06:50:20a, Dee Randall wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>>
>> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On Mon 15 Aug 2005 04:55:23a, Dee Randall wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>>
>>>> I'm in luck -- for the first time ever, I have Italian Fontina, ripe
>>>> figs and ripe pears!
>>>> All are good, but I know what you mean about them not tasting like
>>>> they used to.
>>>> I still can remember what canteloupe 'used to' taste like. I have one
>>>> now that I've eaten half of it, and I would've eaten all of it by now
>>>> otherwise. On the other hand, I've grown to appreciate honey-dew more.
>>>
>>> I guess I'm lucky when it comes to canteloupe, as some of the best
>>> melons in the country are grown here in AZ and are available at our
>>> farmer's markets. They taste the way I remember canteloupe tasting
>>> when I was a kid...sweet, mellow, and slightly musky.
>>>
>>> On the other hand, I can't pick a good honeydew melon to save my life.
>>> What's the secret? I've always heard that a good one should have a
>>> nice creamy color skin. When I pick those, they're still not very
>>> sweet and the the texture is too hard.
>>>
>>>> Have you ever heard this - my mother used to say this to me sometimes
>>>> in the early morning while dressing me --
>>>> "Canteloupes for breakfast
>>>> Honey in a bun
>>>> Put your shoes and stockin's on
>>>> and Run, Run, Run"
>>>> Dee Dee
>>>
>>> Uh, never heard it. :-)
>>>
>>
>> Wayne, I have no secret and I think I must be just taking my chances.
>> A week or so ago in TJ's a young woman stopped another woman (younger
>> than me, but still overly middle aged) and said she wanted to buy a
>> watermelon and could she tell her how to pick one out. The woman said,
>> "I have no idea." So when she asked me, I told her that I had just read
>> to make sure that there is yellow on the bottom. My grandfather raised
>> watermelons, and I had always assumed that the yellow on the bottom
>> meant that it was sitting on the ground a little longer; however, this
>> might also mean that it's been ripening a little longer also, and might
>> be a good tip. I tend to buy the honeydews that don't look too pristine
>> (and creamy colored as you say) and this might be that they have been
>> sitting around a little longer - hopefully not in a 'dump-like' truck.
>> I've had some that were kind of hard inside, but usually they are a
>> welcome relief to the tasteless canteloupe we get around here. They
>> should ship the AZ canteloupes back here to VA. Yes, the term 'musk
>> melon' was also used when I was growing up in Belpre, Ohio.
>> Dee Dee
>
> Thanks, Dee. You grew up in Belpre? David's family is originally from
> Marietta, and I've been through Belpre more times than i can count.
> Wayne Boatwright *¿*

Whatdoyouknow - someone who knows where Belpre is! I was born 7 miles down
the river from Belpre, near where Center and Porterfield used to be. It is
not Center Belpre, though. I went to school 7th grade at Belpre HS, then
moved to Parkersburg, WV, the big city.
My immediate family still live in this Belpre-Parkersburg area. Two states,
two towns, one phone book.
Talk about humidity!!!
Dee Dee