5 facts about watermelons - fruits without which we cannot imagine summer
Miscellaneous / / August 18, 2023
They come in black, yellow, square, heart-shaped and more. And their taste was not always the same as it is now.
1. Watermelon is not a berry, but almost a cucumber
On the Internet, you can find a common statement that, from a botanical point of view, watermelons are not fruits, but berries. This is explained by the fact that fruits grow on trees, and not on the ground.
But in fact, the fruit of the watermelon is called... "pumpkin». It has more seeds than a berry, and the structure of the pericarp is different. It has a juicy inner core, a fleshy core, and a hard (sometimes even woody) outer shell.
So watermelon is not a berry. Like raspberries and strawberries. But the tomato belongs to the berries. This is what science says, you can't go against it.
The closest relatives of watermelons are pumpkins. Also, melons zucchini and cucumbers. They all belong to the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae).
2. There are black and yellow watermelons
We are all used to the fact that watermelons are externally green and striped, and inside - red with black seeds, juicy and sweet. Although with the last if we get lucky. Perhaps someone could also try seedless options - these are sterile hybrids obtained by crossing. They are no different from ordinary ones, except that they are more convenient to eat: you do not need to spit out the seeds.
But in the world there are much more strange watermelons. For example, the variety "densuke", bred in Japan. It has a very dark, almost black rind. It tastes even sweeter than regular varieties. Such watermelons require a lot of time and free space to grow, and annually in Hokkaido they manage to grow no more than a hundred fruits.
In 2019, a densuke watermelon was bought at an auction for 750,000 Japanese yen, which at the time was equivalent to $6,000.
Even more impressive are the yellow watermelons. They have the same green-striped skins as the regular varieties, but the flesh is a bright banana color. In addition, there are watermelons with a yellow rind and red flesh.
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Black watermelons. Image: Wikimedia Commons
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Yellow watermelon. Image: Wikimedia Commons
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Seedless watermelon. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Regular watermelons contain lycopene, a plant-based antioxidant that can also be found in tomatoes. It is he who gives them such a color. And yellow watermelons are rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that gives cantaloupe and pumpkins their golden color, and is also found in carrots.
It can be assumed that yellow watermelons are a fruit genetic manipulation, but in fact this variety appeared in Africa thousands of years ago. In fact, this is the natural color of the watermelon. And later varieties - red ones - came precisely from yellow ones.
3. and even square
In addition to varieties of unusual colors, there are also watermelons of non-standard shape. For example, cubic or square - they are very popular in Japan.
Initially, it was supposed to grow such watermelons so that they are more compactly placed in refrigerators. In addition, it is easy to see that square objects are inconvenient to roll. And therefore, watermelons of this shape will not move around the table when cutting.
At least that's what graphic designer Tomoyuki Ono had in mind when he presented his idea at a gallery in Ginza, Tokyo, in 1978. This cultivation method is an experimenter patented in USA. The watermelon is placed in a special transparent box and grows into a container shape. True, in order for it to be ideal, the fruits have to be harvested before they are fully ripe.
That is, it is convenient to put cubic watermelons in the refrigerator, but there is no need, because they are inedible.
Despite this, in Japan, watermelon in the shape of a cube, pyramid, or even a heart is quite a popular gift. How is that flowers present - no one expects you to eat them. Such decorative watermelons stand quite expensive - up to $ 415, because growing them in molds is quite a chore. But they are beautiful though.
4. Watermelons are very big
You have probably had to drag a heavy watermelon home from the market more than once. Large specimens can weigh 10-12 kg. But it's all just crumbs compared to the monster that raised in 2013 Chris Kent from Tennessee (USA). His offspring weighed... 159 kg. The previous record also belongs to Kent - that watermelon was 19.2 kg lighter, but still healthy.
Growing such monsters for a man is not only a hobby, but also an additional earnings: A pack of three or four seeds belonging to his giant watermelons can be purchased for as little as $40. And try to replicate the result.
However, watermelons are not the largest fruits in the world. The record belongs to their cousin, the pumpkin, grown Stefano Cutrupi in Italy in 2021. She weighed 1,226 kg - about the size of an average passenger car.
5. Watermelons used to be not very tasty.
According to genetic research, the first watermelons originated from the Sudanese melons with whitish flesh, also known as Kordofan melon. They were domesticated in Northeast Africa, in the Nile Valley, in 4360 BC.
watermelons enjoyed popularity and in Ancient Egypt, at least since the era of the Middle Kingdom (XX century BC). The inhabitants of this country had a rather original explanationhow huge striped fruits turned out. Somehow, the god Set turned into a bull (the Egyptians invented such stories long before the Romans), decided to take possession of the goddess Isis and chased after her. She, obviously, was not delighted with such a close acquaintance with cattle and ran away. The poor bull had to regurgitate the seed on the ground, and the first watermelons grew from it. Live with it now.
In the tomb of Tutankhamen found watermelon seeds - the fruits were left to him by caring priests at the funeral, so that the pharaoh had something to eat in afterlife. But if you believe that he ate the same fruits as you, then you are mistaken. They weren't sweet at all.
Most likely, watermelons in ancient Egypt tasted like cucumbers.
Initially in Africa grown not because of the taste, but because of the high water content. Watermelons were stored so that during the dry seasons they could be used not only as food, but also for quenching. thirst. Once these fruits were completely unsweetened, with yellowish-white flesh. Some even bitter. And the first sweet, dessert varieties appeared only during the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean.
Watermelons have always been eaten raw. But besides, in traditional African cuisine, their accepted fry or stew, marinate the crusts, and squeeze oil from the seeds. In addition, from watermelons, as well as from pumpkins, you can make good vessels.
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