Doing more with melons

Be it sweet watermelon, classic cantaloupe or humble honeydew, non-commercial operators know seasonality rules when menuing melons. Lucky operators like Eric Ernest, executive chef for USC Hospitality at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, can—and do—take advantage of local melons grown year-round. But it’s not just melons’ availability that makes them one of Ernest’s favorite fruits to work with.

“Melons are very versatile—from traditional fruit trays to compressing it—and the fruit’s flavor really lends itself to a wide range of dishes,” Ernest says. “Other fruits you can only do so much with, but with melons, the options are endless. Melons work well with sweet, salty, spicy and vinegary flavors. It’s not necessarily common to have something that’s so good on its own that also pairs so well with so many different flavors.”

Ernest’s department has done some innovative things with melons, such as using compressed versions in dishes for special events. To compress fruits such as watermelons, they are placed in a vacuum bag and all the air is removed. Ernest says the process essentially breaks the cell structure of the melon to create more flavor in less space.

“The watermelon comes out looking like a piece of raw tuna,” Ernest says. For one dish that featured this application, watermelon was infused with a bit of orange blossom honey, Thai basil vinegar and fresh basil and then compressed in a vacuum sealer. The compressed melon was served with marinated mozzarella, some shaved radish and a balsamic reduction.

Beyond compressing melons, USC Hospitality offers a number of items with melons, including melon and prosciutto plates and fruit soups.

“We make fruit stocks with puréed melons and melon trimmings,” Ernest says. “We add some simple syrup or citrus juices to make those into fruit soups, which are a really refreshing addition to a dessert buffet or as a part of a dessert duo.” USC also makes a gazpacho where watermelon is used in place of tomato. Cucumbers, beets, celery, coriander, cumin, olive oil and fresh bread, for thickening, join watermelon in the soup, which is served with a rice-crusted scallop. A spicy version is also made with serrano or habanero chilies.

Beyond watermelon, USC also offers compressed Tuscan melons, which are marinated in a light elderberry syrup and served with a lime pickle and citrus caviar. The department also used the same Tuscan melon to garnish a mushroom carpaccio.

Melon with spirit

Located far from California’s nearly year-round melon availability is Iowa State University, in Ames. Scott Bruhn, executive chef for ISU Dining, says his department struggles with seasonality, but it has been able to use watermelon from a local grower for special events.

“We’ve bought red and yellow watermelon from a local farmer, which works well because our school colors are red and yellow,” Bruhn says. “In the past, we’ve done red and yellow melon balls, which we marinate in cassis. We carved a watermelon with the Iowa State logo on it, hollowed it out and then put those melon balls inside.”

The department also has done a prosciutto and blue cheese wrapped watermelon and a watermelon caprese skewer, which Bruhn describes as a watermelon ball, a fresh mozzarella ball, fresh basil and honey balsamic vinegar on a skewer. The department also offers standard preps of melons on the salad bar, as well as fruit salads that feature watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew when in season.

“I think what we’ve found is that the melon consumption in our dining halls, and fresh fruit consumption in general, has really jumped this year,” Bruhn says. “One of our largest dining halls has had to add two student workers just to cut melons in order to keep up with the demand. I think it’s born out of the students’ push for healthier and fresher menu options. During any given week, we use about 39 cases of cantaloupe, 15 cases of honeydew and 900 pounds of watermelon.”

Kids love melons

With new school meal requirements, increasing fruit options has been a top concern for school operators. But many operators say going beyond simply offering melons whole hasn’t been a hit with students. Ann Cooper, director of foodservice for the Boulder Valley School District, in Colorado, says her department has been able to purchase melons, at least in the fall, because they grow in Colorado.

“We don’t really cook with melons,” Cooper says. “They are on the salad bar and we’ll use them in catering in boxed lunches or in fruit and dip platters. We do offer a lot of grain salads on our salad bars, so melons can end up in those. For instance, we could be making a brown rice salad and melon would go into that.”

Students can take unlimited fruit from the salad bar, though Cooper says they have had to put some limits on watermelon. “Melon is just a big hit with the kids,” she says. “Watermelon is so sweet that we actually just give them one piece and then tell them they can come back for more. If given unlimited watermelon, they’d just have a plate of it and not eat their lunch.”

Serena Suthers, R.D., director of nutrition services for Prince William County Public Schools, in Manassas, Va., says her district also hasn’t gone beyond serving melons on the line. But not for a lack of trying. “We’ve done some salads with melon, but they haven’t gone over as well,” Suthers says. “The students prefer it plain. When we tried salads, we did a simple watermelon with jicama. The students didn’t dislike it, but they are more willing to take it when it’s plain.”