Wipe down the outside of the melons with a wet cloth to remove any residual dirt. Then, cut them in half lengthwise and remove all the seeds using a spoon.
Use a melon-baller to remove the flesh of the melon, making sure to leave the peel in tact.

Reserve the shells or outer part of the melons.
Place the raspberries in a pasta strainer and wash carefully for a couple of seconds, then dry them. Then place the melon balls and raspberries in a dish and splash with a little of brandy or passito.

Fill the melon shells with and place in the refrigerator to cool for half an hour.

Then serve.

Food History

Even if opinions vary, the melon is likely comes from the tropical areas of Africa where they existed before they spread eastward. Melons arrived in Europe by the 1st century AC due and there are even wall paintings of the fruit found in the ruins of Pompei and Ercolano. We can be certain that melons have always been popular among kings and emperors: Pliny the Elder reported that because emperor Tiberius was extremely fond of melons and other sources show that over a thousand years later, Charles VIII, King of France, fell in love with a particular variety of Italian melon and decided to take home the seeds in order to grow them back at home.

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