Watermelon Liberation

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THE future of the watermelon looks bright. The health-and-self set is already viewing it as power food. A trendy catalog recently arrived in my post office box offering an entire page of pricey items with a watermelon theme: glasses, place mats, watches and trays. Governor Dukakis of Massachusetts bragged about his state's watermelons during his 1988 presidential campaign. Jim Hightower, commissioner of agriculture in Texas, talks about watermelon as a boutique alternative to the endangered monoculture economies of his state.

The liberation of watermelon is clearly under way. To speed the process, watermelon lovers should form a grass-roots organization to reject the fruit's history of neglect. Call it "Friends of the Watermelon" and arm it with a powerful political action committee. If this happens, no U.S. president will dare overlook the splendors of the watermelon again.

Watermelon Sorbet

1-1/2pounds watermelon pieces, minus seeds and rind 10 ounces or 1-1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
Juice of a large lemon

Mash, liquidize or sieve the watermelon to make a smooth pulp. Simmer sugar with 2 cups of water and cinnamon sticks for 5 minutes. When cool, remove cinnamon and add the syrup gradually to the watermelon, stopping when the balance of fruit and sweetness seems right. Use the lemon juice to bring out the flavor.

Freeze in the usual way, at the lowest possible temperature. If you stir the sorbet from time to time, to keep the texture even, you can serve it at the granita stage, when it is a thick, grainy sludge. Very cooling.

Watermelon Soup

This watermelon version of a Russian soup is so delicate that it makes an ideal first course for a summer party.

1 melon weighing at least 2 pounds,
preferably more 5 ounces or 2/3 cup sugar 8 ounces or 1 cup dry white wine

Lemon juice 2/3 to 1-1/2 cups sour cream or creme fraiche

Discard seeds and scoop the flesh from the watermelon. Dissolve 1 pint or 2-1/2 cups water and the sugar in a pan over low heat, then simmer for 4 or 5 minutes.

Liquidize the melon with the wine, and gradually add the cooled syrup to taste. (But don't go overboard: Add a faint sharpener of lemon juice, and at least 5 ounces or 2/3 cup cream.)

Serve chilled, with almond biscuits or meringues.

Recipes are adapted by permission of Harold Ober Associates Inc from Jane Grigson's Fruit Book

(Atheneum,New York, 1982.

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