# How DARE you salt that watermelon! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2000, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034 "2000-07-27T11:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/21 "2000-07-27T20:51:41Z")
Thanks, Manny! Edlyn and I will try the recipes! To all you people who salt watermelons […getting down on knees, folding hands together, batting helpless puppy-dog eyes…] please, oh, please, won’t you at least think of the _children_? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/22 "2000-07-27T21:07:23Z")
I salt all my melons too. I’m not entirely sure why, or how it got started. I also put sugar on my chilli. It’s just one of those things. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/23 "2000-07-27T21:17:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*I salt all my melons too. I’m not entirely sure why, or how it got started. > I also put sugar on my chilli. > It’s just one of those things. \*\* Sugar on chili? I guess you would put catsup on a hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![Kepi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kepi/32/7251_2.png) [@Kepi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kepi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/24 "2000-07-27T21:20:01Z")
One of the great summertime memories of my childhood. Everybody in the family on the front porch of our suburban ranch style house, gathered around a watermelon split in half lengthwise, spoons in hands, scooping out chunks of that sweet melon flesh, sprinkling it with salt, popping it in my mouth, and spitting the seeds out in the grass, hoping that a melon patch will sprout, providing an endless supply of the luscious fruit (or gourd or whatever). I think I shall now call my mother, just for the heck of it. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/25 "2000-07-27T21:51:40Z")
Sure do Louis. ---
**Author:** ![tiggeril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tiggeril/32/7234_2.png) [@tiggeril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiggeril)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/26 "2000-07-27T22:28:48Z")
Salted melons? Ewwww. Salted kiwi fruit, however, is quite tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/27 "2000-07-28T00:01:01Z")
**Kepi** Wow. You’ve proved that there do exist watermelon salters who are not bad people. I am humbled. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/28 "2000-07-28T00:12:00Z")
I put salt on watermelon, and on apple slices. Always have. Always will. I put ketchup (or catsup if you prefer) on almost everything else. I love ketchup. It’s like tomato wine. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/29 "2000-07-28T00:17:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\ ***Kepi** > > Wow. You’ve proved that there do exist watermelon salters who are not bad people. I am humbled. \*\* Don’t be humbled! This is our mission! The sad consequence of temptation and free will is that many otherwise good people have been misled and been drawn down the road of salt. We must undertake to salvage the salt-worshipers. Those who know better but _choose_ the way of salt are beyond our help; we can only pray for their souls. But those who have been _misled_ can be brought back to the path of pepperousness and once on the True Path can then ascend into the kingdom of Tobasco. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/30 "2000-07-28T02:14:32Z")
Well, i noticed a couple of summers ago at a summer job that my Mexican co-workers would put lemon and salt on EVERY fruit they would bring with them to lunch. They mostly did this with Mangoes though. They also had this spicy powder they would sprinkle on it also. AND most mexican fruit candy seems to have lemon and salt in it. ---
**Author:** ![Mu\_Mu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Mu\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mu_Mu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/31 "2000-07-28T02:33:19Z")
My dad used to say “Butter and salt improve the flavor of anything, except watermellon.” Then he ate a strawberry souflee that was dripping in butter. He said now he wants to try the same with watermellon. ---
**Author:** ![Or\_n\_ry\_Oscar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Or\_n\_ry\_Oscar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Or_n_ry_Oscar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/32 "2000-07-28T03:50:55Z")
My Pop salts his watermellon, as do I, occasionally. I still remember the first time my brother saw the old man salt a watermellon. I must have been 5 and he, 3 1/2. Sean immediately took the salt shaker and held it over his mellon for about 90 seconds. The old man, needless to say, said nothing. The face Sean made was precious! The moral that I learned: a little brings out the taste nicely, more is too much. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/33 "2000-07-28T09:10:39Z")
OK. I salt apples and grapefruit. Lots and lots of salt on the grapefruit - it’s the only way to go! I personally don’t salt my melons (heh heh heh - that still sounds dirty), but my parents do. I’d be willing to try it. I think it sounds kind of good. Oh, I also put catsup on hot dogs. Of course, keep in mind that when I was a kid, I ate peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. Mmmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/34 "2000-07-28T10:04:29Z")
One of those nifty little tidbits of information I’ve picked up in culinary school is that salt is a flavor-enhancer when used in the right proportion–hence, a very lightly salted watermelon will seem to be more full-flavored. Mom salts her melons \. I usually squeeze a little lime or lemon on them. Pepper on strawberries (or raspberries) is divine! ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/35 "2000-07-28T10:30:38Z")
**Hey, Pepperlandgirl,** I tried putting a little sugar on some chili. I have to admit that it wasn’t bad. It also made me remember an ex-GF who always put a little sugar in scrambled eggs–that wasn’t bad either. Just goes to show, one is never too old to learn. But catsup on hot dogs is still a personal no-no. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/36 "2000-07-28T11:26:33Z")
**Manny** I suppose it’s possible that watermelon salting is genetic rather than a choice. Most salters here, after all, talk about fond memories of salting watermelons with their immediate families. Notice that no one is saying that a weird uncle or cousin lured them into the woods and tricked them into salting. Maybe they could be helped with a mild chemotherapy. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/37 "2000-07-28T18:51:40Z")
Of course I salt watermelon. I also add salt and pepper to cantaloupe. Salt good not bad - for about two thirds of the population. The PC health nuts have spread the salt bad rumor for years. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/38 "2000-07-28T19:29:54Z")
**Diver** It isn’t that salt is bad. It’s just that watermelon is the absolute _zenith_ of refreshment and deliciousness just as it is. When something is already perfect, an addition is a subtraction. ---
**Author:** ![Kepi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kepi/32/7251_2.png) [@Kepi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kepi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/39 "2000-07-28T19:36:39Z")
Lib - The next time you eat watermelon, just sprinkle a little bit of salt on it. Then you too shall find yourself on the path to enlightenment. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034/40 "2000-07-28T19:58:11Z")
**Libertarian** : > [@](#): > > It isn’t that salt is bad. It’s just that watermelon is the absolute _zenith_ of refreshment and deliciousness just as it is. When something is already perfect, an addition is a subtraction. I’ll go out on a limb (one of Sam I Am’s limbs, I suppose) and guess that neither Libertarian, nor anyone else in this thread aghast at the notion of salted watermelon, has _ever tried it_. Amusing synchronicity: I rarely eat watermelon, but this morning at work cubes of it were offered in the company’s cafeteria for breakfast. I bought some, salted and enjoyed. Mm-mm! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dare-you-salt-that-watermelon/27034.md?page=3)