Watermelon with a squirt of mustard? Or slathered with PB&J? These are some of the suggestions on social media for so-called watermelon flights.
Like a flight of wine or whiskey, watermelon flights are meant to offer variations on a theme. Artfully cut slabs of watermelon are garnished with ingredients sweet and savoury to offer interesting contrasts and textures when paired with the ultimate summer fruit.
They’re perfect as an appetiser at a civilised barbecue or a snack at an afternoon cocktail party.
Watermelon offers a good backdrop for a variety of surprising ingredients because of its light sweetness and somewhat coarse texture.
In addition, watermelon, made of 92% water, is cooling and hydrating. And it’s healthy – it’s sodium and fat-free, and a one-cup serving has only 46 calories.
While some of the suggestions for pairings on social media were dubious – watermelon and mustard is a hard no – other savoury ingredients were a good match.
Many TikTok users tout eating watermelon with a simple sprinkle of salt, which, they claim, brings out the watermelon’s flavour. This combo left me cold, as did a dash of Tajin, the lime-chili spice mixture. Watermelon plus cinnamon or cinnamon and honey, however, is a good, easy-to-make nosh for cinnamon lovers.
After trying about 10 combos, though, my favourites were more complex combination of flavours and textures.
No. 1 for me was watermelon with a fellow member of the Cucurbitaceae family: cucumber. Slices of cucumber topped with crumbles of feta, chopped mint and a squeeze of lime offered a nice counterplay of textures and flavours – the crunchiness of the cucumber, the light saltiness of the feta and the spark from mint and lime.
Another convincing partnership married berries – I used blueberries and chopped strawberries – with feta and lime.
The final suggestion I’ll include is not something I’d want as an everyday treat, but it did provide a jolt of the unexpected: Tajin, jalapeño slices and lime juice.
You’re hit first with a blast of heat from the jalapeño, but then are instantly cooled by a rush of liquid from the watermelon.
“There’s something interesting here,” my husband commented, “though I’m not sure I like it.”
He called it The Pyromaniac-Fireman, and compared it to “poison and the antidote.”
As for watermelon coated with peanut butter and jelly, I couldn’t bring myself to try it. There are some outrages that one should not be forced to countenance, no matter what social media says. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS
Serves six as appetiser
Feel free to mix and match these ingredients, or add some of your own.
Three combo suggestions: cucumber, feta, mint and lime; berries, feta or goat cheese and lime; and Tajin, jalapeño and lime.
Ingredients
- A small watermelon, cut into slabs or regular slices
- Feta, burrata, goat cheese and/or Greek yogurt
- Half an English cucumber, sliced thinly
- Berries of your choice, like blueberries, strawberries or raspberries
- Pine nuts
- Jalapeño slices
- Honey
- Mint
- Basil
- Tajin
- Cinnamon
- Limes for squeezing
- Balsamic glaze
- Flaky salt, like fleur de sal
Arrange the watermelon pieces on a tray or cutting board.
Garnish with your choice of ingredients.
Consider starting with a layer of cheese, then moving on to fruit, nuts or jalapeño.
Sprinkle with herbs or spices of your choice.
Finish with a squeeze of lime or a pinch of flaky sea salt.
