Picnic Pleaser

     The refreshing quality and sweet taste of a watermelon at a summer picnic provides a guilt free, low maintenance dessert.  And despite the popular belief that a watermelon is made up of only water and sugar it is actually considered a nutrient dense food, providing high amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  And as an added bonus they are low in calories.



     Originally from southern Africa, they have been cultivated and enjoyed for thousands of years around the world.  Watermelon seeds were even found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (King Tut).  Perhaps they were for a seed spitting contest in the afterlife.  Watermelons are also mentioned in the Bible as a food consumed by the Israelites during the Babylonian captivity.

     Watermelons are of the botanical family Cucurbitaceae which includes cantaloupe and  honeydew.  According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board watermelons contain more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable.  Lycopene is especially important to the body in providing cardiovascular and bone health.  One cup of diced watermelon contains only 40 calories, 0 grams of fat, 2 grams of sodium, 11 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber.  That same serving supplies 17% of the Vitamin A, 21% of Vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of the calcium necessary each day.  And it is aptly named since it is made up of 92% water.



     While the most common flesh color of the watermelon is red, it can also be orange, yellow or white.  Horticulturalists have been able to cultivate a seedless variety and also disease resistant strains.  To date there are over 1,200 varieties of the plant that goes from seed to harvest in only 85 days.

     It was in 2007 that the Oklahoma State Senate passed a bill declaring the watermelon as the official state vegetable.  I guess no one told them that it's really a fruit!