watermelon pie

[fabrisse]

There exists something called watermelon pie. This is the better version than the one I originally saw.

This disturbs me even though the aforementioned pie is uncooked.

Part of the disturbance is cultural. I was taught to salt my water- and other melons to bring out their sweetness. I also salt peaches and nectarines for the same reason. (I don't understand why plums and apricots weren't treated the same way.) The recipe I saw calls for a cup of sugar.

I can feel the enamel on my teeth dissolving just from reading it.

After calling for all that sugar, there's a part where one mixes in whipped topping.

So, we've taken one of the most naturally sweet things in the world. It's not terribly high in calories and is supremely refreshing chilled on a summer's day. Then we turn it into an artificial high-calorie "treat."

What's wrong with Americans?!?

Comments

[disbelief11.livejournal.com]

We're trained (in many ways, though not all) to eat way too much sugar. Seems like that's slowly changing, judging by what I can find at a regular grocery store these days. Remember that a lot of these types of recipes originated with the manufacturer as a way to sell more product, too.

My ex-mother-in-law is from Abilene, Texas and 95% of the desserts she makes start with a can of Eagle Brand sweetened & condensed milk. Often she ends up adding Cool Whip to whatever it is. Everything ends up tasting like a bag of sugar just smacked you upside the head.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have relatives from both Texas and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Cool Whip is a food group there.

[eanja]

Ecch, that pie looks horrible- like something straight out of the 70s. But then, I'm generally not in favor of putting things in gelatin to begin with. And Melon flavored anything doesn't taste at all like melon to me- it's one of the few artificial flavors even I can differentiate enough to steer well clear of.

That said, I'd never heard of salting melons or peaches till I met you. I have some melon in the fridge, maybe I'll try it. My father puts cinnamon on cantelope and honeydew melons, and that's really good.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I'll try the cinnamon thing sometime. Sounds different and could be good.

If it were unflavored gelatin, I could see it. While my strawberry pie didn't use gelatin, it gave that effect.

[riverfox.livejournal.com]

Ew. And it's considered low-fat, which too many people equate with healthy. This recipe looks more like something a Southerner would whip up, no pun intended.

Just give me watermelon by itself and I'm happy. Especially if it's "seedless." ;)

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

As a Southerner myself, just let me say, watch it. *G*

My grandfather helped develop seedless watermelons back in the late 1920s, early 1930s when he was working for the produce company Blue Goose. It was all hybridization.

[riverfox.livejournal.com]

*gg* I was. And as a Southerner, you must be mortified whenever you see some of the concoctions they've dreamed up. Lord 'a mercy.

Well, you have quite the men in your family. :) As for hybrid, yes ma'am, I knew that.

[moria923.livejournal.com]

I never got in the habit of salting sweet things. Most recipes for baked goods call for a little salt, and I usually leave it out or make very sure to make my pinches minuscule. I don't like sweet-salty flavor combos, though I know lots of people love them. At an event recently, they were serving an appetizer of watermelon squares topped with feta. Since they were free, I decided to be adventurous and try one. Curiosity satisfied.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Glad you tried it though. And I can't imagine feta with watermelon. On the other hand, as much as I love cheese, I've never particularly cared for feta.