For most of my life, watermelon has been one of my favorite summertime treats.
My family used to grow them. My brothers and I couldn’t wait for the melons to ripen. Then we, often with some friends, would sit on the back porch steps, eating slices of watermelon and seeing who could spit the seeds the farthest. Our parents didn’t think it was a good idea. But we loved the melon and our seed-spitting contests.
My family also used to make pickled watermelon rind. It was “put up” in jars in summer. When the weather cooled, we occasionally would have this tasty treat. I looked for a recipe and found two, a very complex one in an old cookbook and another in “Joy of Cooking” that was not quite as difficult but too complicated for me. So, it now remains a memory.
Watermelon dates back to 2400 B.C., and is a member of the gourd family, along with squash and pumpkins. The sweet fruit not only is delicious, it also is good for you, providing vitamins A and C. In addition, according to Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D., it’s, “the richest dietary source of the non-essential amino acid L-citrulline. Aside from this fruit, this amino acid is rarely found in food. L-citrulline is associated with numerous health benefits, including improving cardiac and metabolic health, exercise performance and diabetes.”
Last summer, Patti started eating watermelon chunks as a bedtime snack. It didn’t take long for me to join her. It was so refreshing! As the hot weather cooled, we noticed it still was available cut-up in containers at our supermarket. This cold weather watermelon is from Mexico. We decided to make an exception to our “usual” choice of not buying out of season produce for this naturally sweet treat. We still are enjoying watermelon every evening before bed. It’s not as sweet as the local summer ones, but is tasty.
Enjoy and stay safe.
If you have suggestions or questions for this column, please contact me directly at guthrielarason@verizon.net.
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