Citrullus Lanatu – we just call it watermelon – is it a fruit, a berry or a vegetable?
Everyone has an opinion – I grew up thinking it was a berry, the AP says it’s a veggie related to squash, and most people simply assume it’s a fruit. I bet you did not know that watermelon has also been Oklahoma’s state vegetable since 2007.
I’ve loved watermelon for as long as I can remember. When our parents came to visit on weekends – my cousin and I were staying in the country with my grandparents every summer – I’d be excited to see them of course, but I’d also be excited because I knew that they would be bringing a watermelon. They would hide it in the garden and my cousin and I would go looking for it to discover it magically ‘grown.’
Useful info
Watermelon continues to be a favorite summertime treat. Selecting a good watermelon is pretty easy if you just use this simple trick – knocking on it! Tried and tested by this self-certified watermelon expert, this really works – knocking on a ripe watermelon should produce a deep, almost hollow sound. The skin should be dull and not too shiny but firm, and the stem should be dry. The underside where the fruit or vegetable lies on the ground should be a pale yellow color.
A watermelon is composed of 92% water and 8% sugar. This explains why it feels so refreshing in the summer – eating a cooling piece of watermelon can actually make me feel cold! It is also full of lycopene, an antioxidant that may help reduce the risks of cancer and other diseases. As it happens, two of my favorite foods – tomatoes and watermelon – contain lycopene. You can also find lycopene in other red-colored fruit & veg, such as pink grapefruits or red peppers.
Recipe ideas
While I love and prefer watermelon fresh, cold and crunchy, there are actually a ton of fabulous things you can do with it as an ingredient. Here are some ideas:
- Of course in Russia where we pickle everything, watermelon is also pickled. A well-known and more accessible version of that is watermelon salsa, another great dish.
- You can also make interesting things like creamy watermelon pie (I love this blog by the way).
- Last summer I also made numerous variations of these salads – just add feta, mint, basil (or jicama!) and go. This gingered watermelon and yellow tomato salad sounds interesting too. This is a recipe for a grilled watermelon and tomato salad (imagine the lycopene levels!) that I am also eager to try.
- Eric Ripert’s twitter feed, which I may or may not read religiously, has another easy and tasty salad idea : watermelon salad Watermelon cubes with crumble feta and crushed olives;shreded mint;shrimp/ keep chilled serve at last min with lemon EVOO crack black pepper [sic]
watermelon! it exists in many countries and there are different ways of eating it – but it”s delicious in any way. in the beginning of70s i was working at a so called ‘vegetable base’, students were sent to work there for free, cause nobody else wanted. day after day we would be unloading wagons if watermelons from astrakhan/still the best in russia/. when tired, one if our guys would just crash one over the knee and we would eat it! the tastiest! later on, when i had a fridge with a freezer i”d freeze slices of watermelon and eat it, like ice. it is also popular in russia to inject watermelon with vodka, leave it for a couple of days and then eat the contents!!