I saw this question on someone’s FB post yesterday. One of those posts with random questions that you are meant to fill in and pass on. Usually I ignore them but this caught my eye. Salt on watermelon? The persons whose post it was had answered with shock…what a preposterous thought. However, it made me think and then search Mr Google to find out if this was, indeed, something people do.

Watermelon is big here at the moment – perhaps I should say that the watermelons here are big! They are simply enormous, weighing in at 5kg for the smallest. I love watermelon and although I do buy these bohemuths, I prefer to buy the slices otherwise my whole fridge is filled with bright red slices and squares which never seem to go, no matter how much I eat. Although the thought of having it with something savoury seemed odd at first, watermelon is often served with feta cheese, a salty cheese. An appetiser that I would choose if on the menu. It appears that the salt brings out the moisture and flavour. So for breakfast I added a pinch or two of pink Himalayan salt to some watermelon – it certainly did bring the melon to life. We have salted caramel that is a very popular flavour at the moment and chocolate with sea salt so the idea of salty and sweet is not so unusual. I do like some freshly ground black pepper on strawberries. Had a conversation about this last night with my mother – she insists it should be the finely ground white pepper on strawberries but then she eats banana sandwiches so we shall agree to disagree on this as well as the correct ripeness of tomatoes…that is for another post!

So what other fruits are enhanced with seasonings? Pineapple is one that salt brings out the flavour of and even chili salt is recommended. Who doesn’t like avocado on toast – a pinch of salt is essential to bring out the flavour. Who would have thought of sprinkling salt on tart green apple slices? As for tomatoes – I had always thought that adding salt to tomatoes was not advised as it turns them mushy. However, if done just before eating, salt is a perfect partner to tomatoes.

It appears that just about any fruit or berry’s flavour can be enhanced with some salt or pepper! So instead of reaching for sugar to make your fruit sweeter, try a pinch of salt or a grind of pepper…you never know what new flavour bombs you will find.