A SLICE OF STICKY, SWEET SUMMER

National Watermelon Day

August 3rd

     Ah, the Watermelon, a summertime favorite of children and grownups around the world.  

     From its early beginnings in Southern Africa, the fruit was spread throughout the globe via seeds carried by European Colonists and African Slaves.  The Chinese have become the world's single largest producer of watermelons and have been cultivating them as early as the 10th century.  Three centuries later Europe was introduced to the fruit by the Moorish invaders.  As early as 1615 the word "Watermelon" appeared for the first time in an English dictionary, and shortly there after, merchant and slave bearing ships brought the seed ashore and introduced Native Americans to the fruit which they then cultivated throughout the Mississippi Valley, Florida, and the Colorado River region of North America. 

     Varieties of Watermelon number over 1200 and  have flesh that ranges from the common red to yellow, orange, white, and even blue.  Some weigh less than a pound while other types can grow to more than a couple hundred.  Even others have been bred to be seedless. 

Did you know farmers of the Zentsuji region in Japan started growing watermelons in glass shaped boxes, the idea being that the fruit would naturally assume the shape of the receptacle it was grown in and this would make them easier to stack and store.  While the concept worked the price is often more than double that of normal ones, that being said consumers continue to purchase the square watermelons simply because they're a novelty. 

     Nutritionally speaking, the watermelon is a source of vitamin C, beta carotene and is about 92% water and 6% sugar.  What a great food to add to the menu when dieting.  Even the rind is edible, the Chinese enjoy it stewed, stir-fried, as well as pickled.  Pickling the rind is common in the southern part of the United States as well as using the juice of the watermelon to make sweet wine.  The seed of the fruit is consumed by the Vietnamese as a snack during their New Years holiday. 

     Yet the watermelon is more than just a juicy summer favorite, it is part of our culture and our history.  Turkey made it the symbol of the city of Diyarbkir, the state of Oklahoma in the U.S. made it the official state vegetable, there is a bug because of its coloring nicknamed the "watermelon"beetle.  Cars and tennis shoes, and more have been decorated to resemble the dark green striped rind and each year festivals are held to celebrate the watermelons very existence. 

Watermelon festival in Chinchilla, Australia

 So go get yourself a piece of watermelon, a handful of napkins, and a shady spot, and kick back and enjoy a slice of sticky, sweet summer.