Last week, in my introduction to this month’s prize, I mentioned that I love salt, but not on watermelon. My statement has since stirred some healthy debate among my friends about the benefits of putting salt on watermelon. That debate has inspired this month’s poll question – Do you salt your watermelon? – which you can answer on the right. Feel free to add your two cents with a comment below, also.
My position is this: I know some people swear by it, but I just don’t do it. I totally get the “salty and sweet” thing (no one is a bigger fan of chocolate-covered pretzels than I am), but to me, putting salt on watermelon is like putting ketchup on scrambled eggs. Both are great things, just not together.
To be fair, I did some research about the practice, and I found claims that salting watermelon actually makes it sweeter. Apparently, the salt “opens up” the taste buds or has some sort of positive effect on the tongue, which enhances the sweetness of the watermelon. Armed with scientific evidence of the benefits of salting watermelon, I’m definitely curious enough that I’ll add a dash of salt to my next wedge. I can’t promise that I’ll like, but I’ll try it!