ITING into a wedge of chilled watermelon is a gourmand's high - cold, sweet, juicy, flavorful. But, sampling Kahuku watermelon in the fields on the first day of harvest is a moment out of time. The melons are large, dull-green ovals with sunset-pink flesh. Like a fine wine, the softly sweet meat complements rather than upstages the nearby Koolau foothills, the 'ehu kai (sea breeze) blowing off Hukilau Bay, the sun dappling through trees. Workers interrupt the harvest to sample melons and juice drips down elbows and dries in a sticky sheen on forearms.
"If it's sticky, that means it's sweet," third-generation Kahuku farmer Mel Matsuda said.
In the wine world, "estate reserve" refers to the best grapes and wines of a particular estate. Likewise, in the watermelon world, this small, select harvest could be called "Kahuku reserve."
Last Friday the first jolly green giants rolled off the vines at Matsuda Fukuyama Farms Inc. and into cardboard tubs en route to market. Daiei is advertising Kahuku watermelon at 38 cents a pound.
"This is the first time I've seen this quality (of watermelon) sell at this (low) price in a long time," Matsuda said. He has collaborated in the planting with Clyde Fukuyama, another third-generation Kahuku farmer, and 10-year Kahuku farmer Ricardo Rabago originally from Ilocos Norte, Philippines. They have 15 acres under production versus 10 last year and they will harvest about 126,000 pounds of Kahuku watermelon this week. A second harvest will occur in late August or early September.
Matsuda believes Kahuku watermelon is peerless.
"I think it's the best in the world," Matsuda said. "I've been all over and tasted it at restaurants and other places. I haven't tasted any better." He said he looks for sweetness, crisp texture, "watermelon flavor" and even smell in a quality melon.
Fukuyama explained a secret to Kahuku watermelon's quality. When the melons are in the "softball" stage, workers tag them individually by hand with color-coded stakes.
Charles Miguel of Waialua tastes the sweetness.
"We stake each watermelon when it's about 4 inches in diameter," Fukuyama said. "Then, it takes 30 days from that time to maturity. It doesn't matter what size it is, it's going to be mature. The staking is labor intensive, but we want to get a better quality product. That's why we mark each melon, and we pull out the misshapen ones and those not up to our standards."Matsuda said Kahuku watermelon is more expensive but it's aimed at a niche market. "I guess we have a number of people who try to find the best quality. We don't cut a lot of corners. We go for quality in each and every piece sold."
Hawaii produces about 14 million pounds of watermelon yearly, or slightly more than 80 percent of the total sold here, according to state Department of Agriculture statistics. Kahuku watermelon represents 2 percent of that total.
Besides at Daiei, the watermelons are available at the Matsuda Fukuyama Farms' roadside stand - located a quarter-mile on the Haleiwa side of Kahuku Sugar Mill - and at Ace Market in Chinatown, Bob's Market on Liliha, Down to Earth, Jimmy's on School Street, Kokua Market, Mel's Market in Waimanalo, Tanaka Store on Keeaumoku Street, Taniguchi Store in McCully, Valori's off Keeaumoku, Waianae Store, Kaimuki Produce on Waialae, Huckleberry Farms, Kengo's Restaurant, Halekulani Hotel and Waikiki Parc Hotel.
Although two out three in a newsroom "blind" taste test preferred a cold watermelon from Kunia or Molokai, those who preferred the field-warm Kahuku model were verbose.
To wit: "Magnificent - even when not chilled. It reminds me of the neighbor's patch when I was a kid in Montana."
"Smooth, melts in your mouth; (when) chilled should be awesome. The difference (between the two watermelons) is like Haagen-Dazs and ice milk."
"Smoother and much more pleasing to the mouth" . . . "Good, sweet, lingering taste, more pungent, better texture" . . . "Buttery" . . . "Robust watermelony flavor."
It's the "estate reserve" syndrome - there is a percentage of people in the world whose tastebuds are acute and demanding enough to pay more for a sublime vintage.
Kahuku watermelon farmer Clyde Fukuyama, above,
weighs up some bomboochas.
3/4 cup diced watermelonThoroughly combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Serve with grilled shrimp or chicken. Makes 2-1/4 cups.
3/4 cup diced cantaloupe
3/4 cup diced honeydew melon
1-1/2 teaspoons minced serrano chile, with seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh mint
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Nutritional analysis per tablespoon: 4 calories, trace fat, no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.*
2 cups watermelon, chopped and seededMachine process watermelon until finely pureed. In a large mixing bowl, stir together watermelon puree, syrup, lemon juice and 1 cup cold water.
1 cup well-chilled Simple Syrup, see recipe below
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
If not using an ice cream maker, place chilled mixture in a stainless steel or other metal baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until softly set, about 2 hours.
Transfer the partially frozen mixture to a food processor and process until smooth and fluffy, about 10 seconds. Return mixture to a baking pan, freeze until half set and repeat the process. After the second blending, transfer it to a plastic container. In either preparation (ice cream maker or freezer), prevent ice crystals from forming by placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice before putting the lid on a container. Freeze until solid, about 4 hours.
Remove ice from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Serve in chilled stemmed glasses. Makes 1 quart, or 8 servings.
Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 75 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium.*
2-1/2 cups sugarCombine the sugar and water in a medium-size saucepan; stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and continue boiling, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
2-1/2 cups warm water
Pour into a clean glass jar or bottle. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 4 cups.