"It’s said that all you have to do is take one whiff of a Pecos cantaloupe to know it’s the real deal. That seductive smell equals summer in certain parts of Texas, inspiring folks to hop in their cars and make a beeline for roadside stands heaped high with the homely orbs, their sturdy countenance belying the creamy, coral-hued sweetness inside. No doubt you’ve indulged in wedges sprinkled with a little salt or hollowed-out halves filled with vanilla ice cream, but who among you has had a slice of cantaloupe pie? As anachronistic as the elegant railroad dining car for which it was created, it’s an uncommon confection attributed to Edward Pierce, a College Station native and 42-year employee of the Texas and Pacific Railway. (It was the T&P, in fact, that introduced the country to the Pecos cantaloupe roughly a century ago when its dining service contracted to buy the fruit from M.L. Todd, a local farmer whose little patch of alkaline soil in arid West Texas was producing some mighty fine specimens.) A resourceful sort, Pierce couldn’t tolerate the wasteful disposal of overripe cantaloupes and came up with a dessert that quickly became a menu favorite. In 1992, after Pierce had retired, Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Anita Baker found him living in the city and happily on board with sharing his recipe." -Courtney Bond
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 06:15:26 +0000