In fact, the mulunaru places the watermelon close to the ear and knock on it, and by the sound emitted he understands if it is ready to be consumed: if so, there will be the taste that, at the purchaser’s request, can be done by tagghiu (cut: a vertically cut from polo to polo) o ‘ntaccu (notch: a hole, usually square, deep up to the heart of the fruit). The slice of muluni agghiacciatu (cold watermelon) is one of the preferred remedies in Palermo to beat the summer heat and that’s why it’s sold as street food. The watermelon pudding is also well-liked – a dessert typical of the Fistinu (festival) of Santa Rosalia – whose origins presumably date back to the Arab domination. It was in fact the Arabs to introduce watermelon in Sicily as well as many of the other ingredients of the recipe: pistachios, cinnamon, vanilla and jasmine, a flower that cannot miss, even in form of essence, in the version of Palermo of the pudding. The preparation of the dessert is indicative of the advanced culinary skills of Sicily of that time: the cooks of the Arab courts, for example, introduced new gelling techniques, also used in the processing of fruit. The characteristic of melon pudding is its texture similar to a pudding: this feature, that can be found in other Saracen desserts, such as blancmange, supports the hypothesis about the Arabic origin of the recipe, more convincing than the one about the Arbëreshë community, settled in the valley above Palermo (Piana degli Albanesi) in the XV century. Over time, monastery and noble cuisines have kept and modified the traditional preparation: not only a dessert, but also filling for tarts and cassate. Chocolate chips were added more recently, to simulate watermelon seeds. Today the melon frost, as well as in domestic kitchens, is the protagonist in the pastry shops and cafes of Palermo, in single portions or as stuffed of baked cassate, tarts, genovesi (short pastry sweets usually stuffed with ricotta cheese) and croissants. The best time to enjoy it is between July and August, when watermelons are perfectly ripe: the color will be very bright even without the deprecable use of food dyes. The complexity of flavors, smells and textures make the gelo di mellone a unique dessert. People of Palermo, and not only, express true love for it and wait for summer to renew and strengthen a century-old tie.