Appearance & Taste

The Watermelon fruit is a very large, smooth, oval to round fruit, which ranges in size from a only a few pounds to upward of ninety pounds. The outside skin is usually thick and a striped, two-tone green colour.

Inside the watermelon, we often associate a deep red-pink colour. In fact there are other varieties that feature orange, yellow, or white flesh. While most watermelons have seeds that are black, brown, white, green or yellow, there are also a few varieties which are actually seedless.

The fruit, itself, contains in the region of 6% to 12% sugar and near 92% water, so it is not surprising to hear this fruit has a sweet, juicy and refreshing taste to it.

Where It Comes From

The major producers of the Watermelon include China, Turkey, USA, Egypt, Mexico, Korea, Spain, Greece and Brazil to name a few.

Health Benefits

The Watermelon has no fat or cholesterol and is an excellent source of vitamins A (notably through its concentration of beta-carotene), B6 and C and contains fibre and potassium.

The pink watermelon is also one of the largest sources of the carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene (lycopene is being studied for its ability to fight heart disease and some cancers) when comparing to other fruits and vegetables.

In addition, it also has amino acids, such as citrulline and arginine, which are said to be able to help in maintaining the arteries of the heart.

Uses

Apart from eating fresh, the watermelon is used for the following:

• It is added to fruit salad and used to make jam, sorbet, juice, salsa, and sometimes wine. Watermelon that has not yet ripened is used in the same way as summer squash.
• The seeds of a watermelon can be eaten. They are roasted, and/or salted and sometimes ground into a form of cereal to make bread.
• The watermelon skin can be candied or marinated.
  

Fruit Facts

• The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
• Watermelon is 92% water
• China is the number one producer of Watermelons in the world.
  

How to prepare to eat

1. Take a sharp knife and cut off the top of the watermelon on a cutting board
2. Then place the large part of the watermelon, remaining after 1), on your cutting board with the pink pulp facing upwards (towards you), and then cut through the middle of this length wise to make two equal halves.
3. Hold one of the watermelon pieces upright (i.e. do not lie them down onto the oval part of the watermelon). Slice downward again through the center of this to create another two elongated pieces. Repeat this with the other piece. This will leave you with 4 long elongated quarter slices.
4. Repeat the same onwards till you the slices as thin as you want. You now have watermelon slices. If you want to make cubes, just simply take the slices, cut away the green skin underneath and slice the pulp into cubes
5. Finally take a knife and cut out the seeds. It is now ready to eat.