Thursday, March 27, 2008

Melons

FDA Warns of Salmonella Risk with Cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano: The agency detains products from the Honduran manufacturer

Tasty...or not. Personally, I'm waiting to buy melons until they are actually in season here and this is just about the salmonella. It's also because, honestly, imported melons aren't that tasty anyway. If I'm going to eat something from thousands of miles away, it might as well be tasty, like chocolate. I have something of an economic equation in my head where the deliciousness of a product must outweigh the impacts of shipping it in from far away.

The melons here in early fall are incredibly tasty and beautiful, providing you pick the right one, which is an art to itself. This lovely yellow melon was from Moore Family Farms and was the perfect size for me.

2 comments:

Psipsina said...

"If I'm going to eat something from thousands of miles away, it might as well be tasty, like chocolate. I have something of an economic equation in my head where the deliciousness of a product must outweigh the impacts of shipping it in from far away."

Yes indeed. I have been following the melon scandal with some amusement. There are huge discussions going on all over the blogosphere about the best way to wash a melon. And I'm sitting here thinking, "Why the heck are you buying melons in March? Unless you live in Australia, that is."

I haven't eaten a melon since last summer. I won't pretend that I'm immune to produce out of season. I live in New England, and the season is short. Somehow it seems OK to buy veggies out of season - veggies are a necessity, right? But fruit? Fruit in the dead of winter seems like a luxury.

Psipsina said...

Oh, and the other thing about melons - the advice to refrigerate them is offputting. They are not really tasty unless they are at their fragrant, room temperature best. When melon season comes along, I think I'll risk it.