A Montreal-grown fruit that was once a delicacy in high demand among society’s elites is making a long-awaited comeback.
The Montreal melon used to be the talk of the town over a century ago, with a high price tag for those lucky enough to afford one — or even a slice. Now, a local community group is hoping to bring back a little sliver of history and tastiness to the city.
“It was sold for one or two dollars a slice,” Justine Senechal, the project lead at the Blue Bonnets Gardens, said in a recent interview.
“Which to today’s equivalent is something like 35 bucks a slice, which is insane when we think about it, so it was very much a luxury food.”
The Montreal melon was grown along the St. Lawrence River in the 1800s, including in the fertile farmlands of the city. The harvest wasn’t just loved by locals: aristocrats in New York, Boston and Philadelphia also couldn’t get enough.
Why was the melon so popular at the time? There isn’t a clear-cut answer, but Senechal said “a lot of people made a very good living of growing it over here.”
But as farmlands gave way for industrial development, buildings and roads, non-profit organization Community Cafeteria MultiCaf says the once-coveted fruit all but disappeared by the 1920s.
“Essentially it stopped being produced and the seeds were then lost because there was no more production of it,” Senechal said.
In 1996, some seeds of the Montreal melon were discovered in an Iowa seed bank after some intrepid research by a journalist with the Montreal Gazette.
Since then, efforts to bring back the melon have been multiplying — with the Blue Bonnets Gardens at the helm of the most recent push. The urban farming organization is planting seeds at the old horse-racing track, where they were likely grown in its heyday.
Now, the organization is trying to nail down which seed is the best and to grow a batch of tasty Montreal melons. There was a tasting in late August so that locals could try the delicacy.
Gabrielle Fleury was among those who sampled the fruit. As she tried slices from different crops, she described it as soft and sweet.
“My parents were coming and I thought it would be fun to go — it’s something to experience; a little bit of local history,” she said.
For Pierre Cardinal, it was about more than just the flavour. His grandfather was a Montreal melon farmer, but last month marked the first time Cardinal had ever tried it.
“I’m very emotional,” he said.
The slice he tasted reminded him of his own family history, Cardinal said, adding he heard about it his entire life.
“It’s similar to the way my dad described it,” he said.
The urban famers will replant the seeds of the yummiest crop next year, in hopes of breeding the best possible Montreal melon. Theirs won’t go to the rich and famous, but to a local food bank.
“We’re bringing it for everybody. It’s such a part of Montreal history,” Senechal said.