Premium Earl's Favorite Muskmelon - 阿露斯洋香瓜
Also known as Arus Muskmelons - the King of Melons, organically farmed by Ms. Hsiu in Pingtung county, southern Taiwan.
Instructions: Earl's Muskmelon is a post-ripening fruit. Your melon was harvested fresh on Wednesday the 25th. Please place it in a well ventilated place at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. Press the bottom of the melon - if it's soft, it's ready to eat. If you prefer the flesh "crispy", you may eat it sooner. If you prefer a softer, denser texture, leave it for longer. If not consumed after 5 days, please refrigerate to extend shelf life. Be careful not to scratch the surface as it will deteriorate quickly if damaged. Best served chilled.
Juicy, sweet and extremely fragrant, the Earl's Muskmelon is one of the most premium variety of cantaloupe on the market, routinely costing HKD200+ in high end supermarkets. Why is it so expensive? Well, melons have a host of nutritional benefits, but who are we kidding? Mainly it's because of the beautiful premium netted look that people find a shame to cut into, only when they do, they discover what has been described as "the taste of happiness!"
Only one melon per tree
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Irrigated by the pure waters of the neighboring Dawu mountains mixed with her own concoction of non-toxic liquid fermented liquid fertiliser, Ms Hsiu lovingly grows her melons free of chemicals pesticides. She uses creative ways to keep the bugs away, like a "physical pesticide" in the form of a hanging pheromone bait to control insects. More difficult to control are scavenging rodents who also enjoy a sweet dinner. In the end, she thought backwards, "I had to feed them first!" So she placed cut up passionfruit and other fruits next to the vines to feed the rats so they would be too full to raid the precious melons. Organic farming is truly all about creative thinking and problem solving.
Indeed, she cannot afford to lose her melons to the rats given the very small yield. They are grown by hanging method with only 1-2 melons per tree, thereby concentrating all the nutrients and producing a superior fruit. After harvesting, each melon is carefully washed by her own hands before shipment. You can hear her care and love in the way she speaks, see it in the way she farms and hopefully now, you can taste it in her precious melons.
