Now here’s an oddity, and for once not a recipe.

I have for a long time said that I’m slightly allergic to melon. Not watermelon but all the others like honeydew, Canteloupe etc. N has also always said she is upset by melon.

When I was a teenager we had a lot of melon, and I noticed that it always gave me a sore throat. Nothing horrendous or dangerous, just a sore throat for the rest of the day.

In consequence I’ve not had melon (except watermelon) in maybe 50 years, and certainly not since N and I have been together. So the other day I figured it was time to try this out again.

I bought a small Matice melon. And had a couple of slices (maybe a ¼ of the melon) at lunch.

Lo and behold, it has given me a sore throat again. Enough that it’s annoying and will likely last most of the day, but not obviously dangerous. And despite that I had an antihistamine before lunch (as I do daily during the summer).

I do find that some other fruits also give me a sore throat, but not as madly and not for as long, and I’ve always put this down to the acidity. But I would not have said that melon is especially acid, and anyway it is 90%+ water. I wish I understood what’s going on!

I haven’t tried the experiment on N yet. Maybe I shouldn’t.