When it comes to quick and breezy summer eating, prosciutto e melone is a summer staple for any Italian – but why do we eat these two foods together? The answer, it turns out, is a centuries-old tale. In Roman times, mixing cold and moist foods with hot and dry ones was a common health practice according to the ancient medicinal teachings of Humorism, a system based on the balance of four key elements: fire, air, earth, and water.

Although prosciutto crudo was yet to be invented, the practice of eating cured meat with fruit was born in order to boost the immune system. The actual recipe for prosciutto e melone popped up centuries later, written by none other than Pellegrino Artusi, the father of modern Italian cuisine.