Summer just wouldn’t be the same without them. Juicy, refreshing, and fun to sink your teeth into, citrullus lanatus are 92% water. Around for 5,000 years, they were once buried in crypts of kings to sustain them in the afterlife and early pioneers used them as canteens. According to the Guinness Book of World Records the heaviest recorded weighed in at 350 ½ pounds! Three-hundred varieties are grown in the United States and South America. And while all of these are interesting facts, the one that surprised me most was that every part of them is edible!
With their plain, mottled or striped green skin, full size or mini, seeded or seedless, watermelon is a sweet treat to eat, especially in the dog days of summer. As kids, we eagerly bit into slices, picking or spitting out the seeds, then counting them up to see who got the most. When only the rind was left, we’d hold them up to mouths like smiles! I can’t recall any backyard barbeque throughout the years when watermelon wasn’t on the menu. And I remember fondly how my late sister-in-law Rita carved them into fruit baskets.
From my journal: July 9, 1994, Rolling Hills Estates
“Brought her watermelon basket…carved a handle out of the top, scooped out the bottom half, and filled it with watermelon chunks, pineapple, grapes, and oranges…so pretty!”
Available March through October, they peak mid-summer, so that explains their presence seemingly everywhere during hot weather months. While the oblong Charleston Grays are a hefty 30 pounds, modern varieties are smaller and rounder, like the Sugar Baby that is a mere 6-10 pounds of lip smacking yumminess. When choosing, look for melons that are symmetrical, evenly colored with a yellow bottom. Inside you should find the fruit crisp and shiny, not cracked or white streaked which indicates dryness. Ugh! No one wants that! Once home, keep watermelon at room temperature, not in the fridge, unless it’s cut up and inside an airtight container.
As nutritious as it is delicious, watermelon provides a host of good-for-you benefits. Containing nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and amino acids, eating it may reduce inflammation, improve digestion, and even relieve sore muscles. Its water content will keep you hydrated, leaving you feeling fuller longer, and will help your skin glow, too!
The red or pink flesh is perfect for munching as is, slice in hands. When diced into squares, or scooped with a melon baller it makes a succulent addition to crisp salads. Chopped, it can also star on its own, most often accompanied by cucumbers, feta cheese, and fresh mint. This is how most people enjoy watermelon, but why stop there…you can eat the rind and seeds, as well! Rinds can be pickled, juiced, and stir-fried. Because watermelon is akin to a cucumber, it can be pickled the same way with water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices such as peppercorns, cloves, and coriander seeds. It can also be cut up into thin strips, salted, and placed in a bowl for an hour, then added to chives, ginger, garlic, gochutgaru, and honey to make kimchi. Once juiced, rinds can be added to soups like gazpacho. And when cut into matchlike sticks, it can be tossed into stir-fries alongside carrots and broccoli. The seeds are tasty, too. After roasting and cracking off their shells, they can be tossed in salads, eaten as a snack, or used to make watermelon seed butter. So versatile!
This summer, like all others, I have been noshing on these sweet slices of happy, enjoying all the goodness watermelon offers, while recalling Mark Twain’ s comment. He said, “When one has tasted it, he knows what angels eat.” I can definitely envision that. After all, both are heavenly and delightful. Just simply divine.
A Journal Journey 