Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center. Pepos are derived from an inferior ovary, and are characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae. The watermelon fruit, loosely considered a type of melon although not in the genus Cucumis has a smooth exterior rind and a juicy, sweet interior flesh (usually deep red to pink, but sometimes orange, yellow, or white)
Watermelon is that big 5 pound oval shaped melon with a green rind and the pink juicy melon in the center with black seeds that is super sweet and watery.
Food
Watermelon rinds are also edible, but most people avoid eating them due to their unappealing flavor. They are used for making
pickles and sometimes used as a vegetable. The rind is stir-fried, stewed or more often pickled, which is sometimes eaten in the Southern US. The Oklahoma State Senate passed a bill in 2007 declaring watermelon as the official state vegetable, with some controversy about whether it is a vegetable or a fruit.
The
seeds have a nutty flavor and can be dried and
roasted, or ground into flour. In China, the seeds are esteemed and eaten with other seeds at Chinese New Year celebrations. In Vietnamese culture, watermelon seeds are consumed during the Vietnamese New Year's holiday, as a snack.
Watermelon juice can be made into wine or blended with other fruit juices. An alcoholic treat called a "hard watermelon" is made by pouring liquor into a hole in the rind of a whole fruit, and then eating the alcohol-permeated flesh.
How to Pick a Watermelon
1. Big or small, the watermelon should feel heavy for its size.
2. Watermelons develop a splotch where they rest on the ground. When this splotch is creamy yellow, it's ripe.
3. Tap the underbelly of the watermelon. A ripe one will have a deep hollow sound. Under-ripe or over-ripe melons will sound dull.
It's usually served in the summertime in cold sliced or in chunks in a melon salad, but it should really be eaten all the time because it contains so many nutrients that can help out our health a lot. Watermelon contains potassium, antioxidants, carotenoids, carbohydrates,
Vitamin A, B6, and C,
calcium, thiamin, sodium, healthy protein, and fiber.
Eating a couple slices of watermelon a day can help prevent strokes, heart attacks, kidney infections
and stones, heart disease, breast, colon, prostate, lung, endometrial cancers, digestive disorders, poor eye sight, and hair loss.
Read More at Wikipedia.
Recipes using Water melon see Here, Here and Here.
