A Rare Watermelon Treat

I knew Deb Freeman as a food anthropologist and writer with deep expertise in Black culinary history and as the voice of the award-winning "Setting the Table" podcast. Lately, she's been a documentarian as well. Although we'd been social media buddies for a while, we finally had the pleasure of meeting in person a couple of years ago at a huge food and culture festival in Asheville, which cemented our friendship.  

I'd admired the writing and award-winning photos of journalist Joshua Fitzwater, known to his colleagues as "Fitz," in several publications. I knew he was an expert in Virginia foodways and history, especially whole hog pit barbecue. But I didn't know that Fitz is equally passionate (read: obsessed) with heirloom watermelons. He's willing to drive for hours in pursuit of the best-tasting heirloom watermelons in the land, including those on the cusp of extinction. When a melon proves delicious and necessary, he saves and shares the seed so that more people can grow and taste these exceptional varieties. 

And I didn't know that he often coerces Deb to ride along on these melon quests. One of their most fruitful trips was to Louisiana, where LSU AgCenter horticulturist Kerry Heafner introduced them to the legendary Red-N-Sweet watermelon.  

As soon as I started connecting all these dots, I knew I had found the perfect duo to guide me on a watermelon field trip, lured by the promise of my first taste of a Red-N-Sweet and a lesson on the history of watermelon in the South.  

The three of us convened on a muggy August morning at a beautiful, manicured vegetable and pollinator garden on the grounds of the Tides Inn, located in the heart of Virginia's Northern Neck on a beautiful stretch of water that wends gracefully to the Chesapeake Bay. 

After meeting Kerry Heafner and tasting a Red-N-Sweet, which both Fitz and Deb claim is the best-tasting watermelon around, Fitz started growing a few for seed to save and share with other growers, including Matt Little, the horticulturist at Tides Inn.  

After giving me a quick lesson on how watermelons grow, Fitz plucked a perfectly ripe Red-N-Sweet off the vine, and we headed to the nearby picnic table that was mercifully a bit more shaded than the garden.

He cracked it open with a huge knife and pried three chunks out of the heart of the melon, one for each of us. After a moment of reverence and unspoken grace, we took a bite.  

It rendered me speechless, and that's saying something. It was unquestionably the best watermelon I've ever tasted, exceeding all my expectations. It was incredibly sweet, yet brimming with complex, fruity flavor like one expects from fine wine. The flesh was so juicy that it dripped, yet it was crisp, without a trace of mushiness. The color was brilliant crimson that seemed to glow from within.  

We each savored that one chunk apiece, but no more. Red-N-Sweets remain so rare and precious that one doesn't simply eat it all. Each ripe melon's higher calling is to yield seeds that can be planted with the long-term goal of making these delicious watermelons plentiful again, at least in some communities.  

I understand that few of us will ever taste a Red-N-Sweet, but I also believe that there are great locally-grown watermelons to be found in many communities. When we can, let's explore beyond big box chain stores that tend to restrict their selection to commercial varieties that ship well, even if they aren't always the most delicious. I've had great luck buying watermelons at local farmers markets and roadside stands, especially when I can ask the grower to help me pick out a ripe one. You will too, and it'll be worth it.  

Sheri Castle, award-winning food writer and cooking teacher, is known for melding culinary expertise, storytelling and humor, so she can tell a tale while making a memorable meal. Her creative, well-crafted recipes and practical advice inspire people to cook with confidence and enthusiasm. She's written a tall stack of cookbooks and her work appears in dozens of magazines. In 2019, the Southern Foodways Alliance named Sheri among Twenty Living Legends of Southern Food, calling her The Storyteller.

Sheri says that she's fueled by great ingredients and the endless pursuit of intriguing stories, usually about the role that food plays in our lives, families, communities and culture.

When she steps away from the kitchen or a local farm, Sheri enjoys spending quiet time at her home near Chapel Hill. She hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.