Facts about Watermelon
Many sources list the watermelon as being introduced in Massachusetts as early as 1629 (Hamish 2007).
Art related to the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead — October 31–November 2) commonly depicts watermelons being eaten by the dead or shown in close conjunction with the dead.
Today, farmers in approximately 44 states in the U.S. grow watermelon commercially, and almost all these varieties have some Charleston Gray in their lineage.
Parsons (2002) lists African slaves and European colonists as having distributed watermelons to many areas of the world.
Georgia, Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona are the United States' largest watermelon producers (CBHS 2006).
One may find 2 kilogram (cantaloupe-sized) to 40 kilogram watermelons, watermelons with light green to very dark green rinds, and flesh color that is red, pink, yellow, orange, and white.
Watermelon seeds are rich in fat and protein, and are widely eaten as a snack, added to other dishes, or used as an oilseed.
Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A. Watermelon also provides significant amounts of ] and ], as well as the minerals potassium and magnesium.
There can be some confusion between seed-specialized watermelon varieties and the colocynth, a closely-related species with which they share many characteristics, uses, and similar or identical names.
Charles Fredric Andrus, a horticulturist at the USDA Vegetable Breeding Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, set out to produce a disease-resistant and wilt-resistant watermelon.
Pink watermelon is also a source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene.
Finds of the characteristically large seed are reported in Twelfth dynasty sites; numerous watermelon seeds were recovered from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (Zohary and Hopf 2000).
Southern food historian John Egerton has said he believes African slaves helped introduce the watermelon to the United States (Motes et al.
The watermelon has a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center composed of mesocarp and endocarp.
Beyond these values, the watermelon plant provides aesthetic delight and the fruit an appeal to the senses of taste, sight, and touch.
David Livingstone, an explorer of Africa, described watermelon as abundant in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, where it is believed to have originated.
Assuming that character of Pudd'nHead Wilson speaks for the author of the novel of the same name, then Mark Twain was very fond of watermelon indeed.
By the thirteenth century, Moorish invaders had introduced the fruit to Europe; and, according to John Mariani's The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, "watermelon" made its first appearance in an English dictionary in 1615.
Fresh watermelon may be eaten in a variety of ways and is also often used to flavor summer drinks and smoothies.
Eigsti, a professor at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, developed a tetraploid hybrid in the 1950s, which became the gold standard for all seedless watermelons developed since then.
All parts of the watermelon fruit are used by people, including the fleshy interior, the seeds, and the rind.
Pickled watermelon rind is also widespread in Russia, Ukraine, and Romania.
Until the 1940s, however, it was hard to find watermelons in good condition at grocery stores.
By the tenth century C.E., watermelons were being cultivated in China, which is today the world's single largest watermelon producer.
The square shape supposedly makes the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones.
Specialized varieties of watermelon are grown that have little watery flesh but concentrate their energy into seed production.
Ecologically, the watermelon flowers provide a source of nectar and pollen for bees.
Watermelon is 92 percent water by weight, the highest percentage of any fruit.
The flesh is similar to the rind of a watermelon and is often known as citron melon (distinct from the actual citron, of the citrus family).
In China, watermelon seeds are one of the most common snack foods, popular especially with women, competing with sunflower seeds, and sold roasted and seasoned.
All parts of a watermelon fruit—fleshy interior, seeds, and rind—can be used.
Museums Online South Africa list watermelons as having been introduced to North American Indians in the 1500s.
Other early watermelon sightings include the Midwestern states (1673), Connecticut (1747), and the Illiana region (1822) (Parsons 2002).
The image of a watermelon slice being eaten and general references to watermelons sometimes historically have been used derogatorily.
When stir-fried, the de-skinned and de-fruited rind is cooked with olive oil, garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sugar and rum, providing a way to utilize the whole watermelon.
Beyond these values, the watermelon plant provides aesthetic delight and the fruit an appeal to the senses of taste, sight, and touch.
Specialized varieties of watermelon are grown that have little watery flesh but concentrate their energy into seed production.