Ye Olde Melon

Good afternoon. Another bright day in the quest for ultimate truth in the vasts territories of Melondom. This time your humble servant, and in spite of its being a Sunday, therefore a day to rest from everyday travail, brings you a sublime instance of melonhood from the past.

This is the "Princess Melon Bombe on an ice border surrounded by garnishing ices", found on the interesting website Historic Food, in their Ices section. On further research, we find the following description:

This is another beautiful ice pudding from the nineteenth century. It is a Princess Melon Bombe, a delicious apple water ice moulded into a melon and filled with a rich vanilla and maraschino ice cream. It is surrounded by small garnishing ices and again decorated with maidenhair fern.

Victorian, then. Let it be a proof of the long time prestige enjoyed by our WF.
Have a nice Sunday, ye all merry melon mavens.

WF and confectionery (Melon and the Market I)

Melons are indeed a source of inspiration for many other arts and disciplines, as the present post shall attempt to prove. The following items have been sighted and longed for by yours truly at The Japan Connection. They had manga, they had anime, with such excellent judgement it was only to be expected they'd pay the WF due regard. Count me in if they ever make it to Europe!

The above is Melon Chewing Candy. Well, I say, what a wonderful idea. I am almost sure we have melon hard sweets in Spain (I'll make sure to find some and keep you posted on the subject), but what better for the dentally challenged than some chewy, soft, delicious melon sweets!

Indeed, Melon Pockys! I am sure we do have chocolate ones in Spain (I am far from expressing dislike, I'm also a declared chocoholic), but melon? Oh what a pleasure it would be. It is to be regretted a Mediterranean country like Spain does not pay sufficient attention to the numerous properties of such a typical, summer fruit as our beloved melon.

And my favourite of the lot! Chocolate AND melon! What else do I need to add?

The Art of the Melon I

So what better start for this our little homage to the Wondrous Fruit (WF) than with some art? Art with capital letters, mind you.
Today, I am honoured to present you with two delightful still-lifes by Impressionists Edouard Manet and Claude Oscar Monet.
The painting above is Manet's Still Life with Melon and Peaches (1866, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA).
Below [we are afraid to acknowledge the author of these lines is still not particularly skillful with html, and has fretted over the position of the picture for too long to care any longer] we have Monet's Still Life with Melon, slightly later in time (1872, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal) and presenting a similar emphasis on peaches and grapes in spite of their absence from the work's title.

Alas, such exquisite beauty! A source of consolation for the long yearly absence of the WF *sigh*

My first post and a disclaimer

My first post and a disclaimer:

Melons, melon, watermelon, cucurbitaceae, etc, none of these names do (obviously) belong to me. This blog does not even claim any sort of erudition in the sacred mysteries of melonhood, and is but an act of good will and friendship towards all other creatures who wonder at the significant presence of the Round Wonder in our world. To my fellow melon devotees: be welcome, this is your blog. Recipes, art, quotes, anything melon related will find its place here. All your suggestions and contributions will be warmly welcome.
For specific knowledge on the wondrous fruit, please refer to the Links section.