Muskmelon Fritters

A late-summer fritter that treats melon like apple: salted and steeped in sherry, then dipped in a thin custard batter and fried. The batter as written makes far more than a single melon needs.

• MuskmelonIn American usage of the period this means the netted orange-fleshed melon sold today as cantaloupe. Choose one that is fragrant but still firm; a dead-ripe, juicy melon will collapse in the fat.
• Slice thicknessThe text reads simply 'inch thick', which may be a full inch or a fraction dropped in printing. Around half an inch works well: thick enough to hold together, thin enough to warm through in the time the coating takes to brown.
• The salt and sherry stepThis is the hinge. Three hours of salting draws out water that would otherwise steam the batter off the fruit, and it seasons flesh that is otherwise flatly sweet. Do not skip it or shorten it much, and drain the slices well, then pat them dry before dipping.
• Batter proportionsA pint of milk, 2 eggs and the melon juice will take roughly 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour for a batter that coats the back of a spoon. That is far more batter than one melon will use; halve or quarter it unless you are cooking for a crowd.
• Frying fat'Hot fat' is not specified in the original; by modern deep-frying practice this means fat around 365-375F. Much below that and the batter absorbs grease; much above and the coating colors before the fruit is heated. Fry in small batches so the temperature holds, turning when the underside is browned.
• Draining and sugaringDrain on a rack rather than on paper, so the underside stays crisp, and dust with sugar only at the moment of serving — sugar applied early dissolves into the hot surface and turns it tacky.
• Yield and servingA medium melon will give perhaps a dozen or so slices, enough for about four as a dessert or a sweet side. They must go to the table hot, as the recipe directs; melon fritters go limp quickly.