Watermelon Bash, July 2010
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Watermelons taste good. A good watermelon tastes really good. They originated in Africa, but are now grown around the world. The early Egyptians cultivated watermelons, and rumor says that watermelon seeds were found in the Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb. Unfortunately, watermelons are 92% water so it is not very practical to freeze, can, or dehydrate them. They must be eaten fresh, or not at all. That is why Mrs. Muddle gets so excited when watermelons come into season.
Besides tasting good, watermelons are beautiful. They have a lovely green rind, often striped with yellow. Inside, they are bright red. The rind is fairly easy to carve.
Although I have never before seen a watermelon with a face carved into it, I have seen watermelons carved into fruit baskets, a whale, and a baby pram.
A traditional activity that usually accompanied watermelon eating was seed spitting. Old varieties of watermelons were always full of seeds. Inside, at a table, everyone was expected to quietly collect the seeds on their plate. But outside, at picnics, it was quite acceptable to have spitting contests for distance and accuracy. Many new varieties of watermelons don’t have seeds. This makes watermelon eating neater, more polite, and less competitive.
Watermelons can get very big. In 2005, a watermelon set a new world record by weighing in at 268.9 pounds. Most watermelons are much smaller than this, but are still too
big for one person to eat. However, there is no need for anyone to eat a watermelon alone. It’s usually easy to find willing volunteers to help.
Coming in August 2010:
Garlic Jubilee!
