Properties: Watermelon
The watermelon has a round, spherical to cylindrical shape and can reach diameters of up to 60 centimeters. Thus, this fruit counts among the largest and heaviest fruits worldwide. In 100 g of watermelon, there are 30 kcal, or 125 KJ, 0.6 g proteins, 8 g carbohydrates, and 0.2 g fat. Watermelon contains Vitamin A, 8.1 mg Vitamin C, as well as 112 mg potassium, 7 mg calcium, and 10 mg magnesium.
Origin: Watermelon
The watermelon originally comes from West and Central Africa, but then spread all over the world. Nowadays, the highly popular summer fruit is mainly grown in Italy, Spain, Hungary, Israel, and Turkey. To thrive perfectly, the watermelon requires a hot and dry climate. Under favorable conditions, the watermelon can therefore also be cultivated in greenhouses at home.
Uses: Watermelon
The watermelon is a popular summer fruit and is often enjoyed as a low-calorie snack and in fruit salads. In some dishes, the fruit flesh of the watermelon is also combined with hearty foods such as cheese.
Storage: Watermelon
Watermelons keep for several weeks, a cut fruit however only about 3 days. They should be stored best cool.
Health: Watermelon
Watermelons are exceptionally low in calories and therefore also serve as a perfect diet food. Besides the large water content, which provides refreshment on hot days, watermelon also contains large amounts of vitamins and minerals that support the body's immune system.
Season of Watermelon: Watermelons are grown almost everywhere in the world. The only prerequisite for this is, however, a subtropical to tropical climate, in which the watermelon thrives well. Accordingly, the main season for watermelons grown in the Northern Hemisphere is between May and September. In the Southern Hemisphere, however, watermelons can be harvested between December and March. In retail stores, melons are available year-round.
Watermelon taste: fruitily refreshing
The watermelon is a prostrate annual plant that grows on branched vines and belongs to the gourd family. Genus-wise, it is classified under Citrullus. The fruit flesh of the watermelon has a pleasantly sweet, refreshing taste. In contrast, the rind contains numerous bitter substances. Watermelons consist—true to their name—of more than 90 percent water.
Where does the watermelon actually come from
Above all, starting from Egypt, the watermelon spread as a cultivated plant over West Asia and Central Asia to India in the following centuries. About 1,000 years later, this crop had also reached China and southern Russia.
Where is the watermelon grown today
The ideal growing areas for watermelons are found in subtropical or Mediterranean climate regions and naturally also in the tropics. Today, the most important growing countries for this melon variety are China, Turkey, USA, Iran, as well as Spain and Brazil. The worldwide annual production volume already exceeds 100 million tons.
Watermelons as thirst quenchers
In many Western countries, the fruit flesh is mainly used and consumed as a fruit with strong refreshing and also thirst-quenching effects. But even in the original region of melon cultivation, the arid regions of the African continent, it serves this way as a water source. When using the fruit flesh, the melons are usually eaten raw. Only in Africa is there also a cooked preparation of the fruit flesh known, although not particularly widespread.
What happens to the rind
The fruit flesh, however, is by far not the only part of the fruit that can be used. Even the rind can be eaten, but it must be candied or pickled for this purpose. For such further processing, it is advisable to rely only on untreated fruits from organic cultivation, as otherwise there may be an excessive concentration of unwanted substances or even pesticides on the outer side of the rind.
Further variants of watermelon
In southern Russia, another growing area for watermelons, the sweet juice of the fruits is used alone and either fermented to produce an alcoholic beverage or a sweet fruit syrup. In India, China, the Middle East, and Central Asia, on the other hand, the seeds of the watermelon are mainly used in food production. The seeds are roasted and eaten as snacks, but surprisingly they are also used in their ground state as a basis for bread dough.