Celebrating Watermelon – the GIFT of summer!

Who can deny that in these hot, humid and sweaty days of summer, a slice of watermelon is the best choice to provide rejuvenation of mind and body instantly?  Just think about the soft watery-sweet and cold slices -- just ready to melt in our mouths or a glass of cold juice with some ice cubes!!  This is the only fruit perhaps which has easy entry into all kitchens -- from the marble-top counter ones to the corners of the mud house variety.  The pile of watermelons seen everywhere in Bangladesh is the proof of its popularity. My intense love for this fruit compelled me to write this piece for other watermelon lovers and also to enrol new members into the WM club.
Family history of watermelon (WM):
In our Bengali culture, we place a lot of value and importance on family history, particularly when it comes to making a choice. Let us dig out the family legacy of our WM. We found that the historical journey of the watermelon is long and interesting. We have not got it automatically.  It took thousands of years to reach us. Wikipedia says that at the initial stage it was a wild fruit which grew in the jungle of southern Africa. It reaches maximum genetic diversity there -- blended with sweet and bitter forms. Its DNA test shows that its first home was possibly in Namibia. Evidence of its cultivation in the Nile Valley was found from the second millennium BC.
Watermelon seeds have been found at Twelfth Dynasty sites and in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen. WM is also mentioned in the Bible as a food eaten by the ancient Israelites while they were in bondage in Egypt. By the 10th century, WM reached China which has now became the largest producer globally. By the 13th century, Moorish invaders introduced it to Europe. According to the Dictionary of American Food and Drink, the watermelon made its first appearance in an English dictionary in 1615. It is believed that it reached United States through the African slaves -- travelled over time from Africa to Asia to Europe to North America. Its arrival in Asia and the Middle East is believed to date back to approximately 900–1,000 A.D. and in Europe around 1300–1400 A.D.  It became our watermelon -- 'Tormuz in Bangla' after passing about three hundred years in the laboratories of USA and some other countries. Thanks must be given to the scientists and horticulturists who contributed to make this fruit almost disease/wilt-resistant, high-yielding and round-shaped around 1954. A few years back we saw Japanese scientists try to make square-shaped watermelons to make it more convenient for shipping and packaging. Today, WM is everywhere and almost available round the year in any part of the globe. It gained popularity in our country as our farmers found it easy to cultivate and more profitable than other products of this season, and marketing became much easier with the development of our road communication.  The affordable prices, its taste and mind-blowing colour all contributed to its massive popularity.
Look at the fun part of WM. No other fruit can change its look within a few minutes.  
Watermelon is related to the squash, pumpkin, cucumber, and gourd family and grows on vines on the ground. Watermelon grows well in fields rich with sandy soil and in sunny tropical weather. The inner colour and sweetness depends on the weather. Watermelon takes around 30 days to ripen once the fruit starts to grow. Gloomy or cloudy weather or rain in the late period ruins the taste and colour of this fruit. This year, rains with hail storm in some places caused much damage to the farmers. Nowadays, cultivation extends to the remote char (small stretch of land in rivers) or at the body/bank of our dead rivers. The exterior of watermelons are usually green, some are also very dark green and some have white stripes while others are yellow even!  The inner fleshy part is mostly deep red though it may have other colours depending on the clan and varieties.
Health benefits of watermelon- do you know it reduces fat, improves blood flow, is good for cardiovascular health and kidney function, and also works as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, and much else besides?
Research and laboratory tests show many benefits of WM such as the existence of high-lycopene, which is especially important for our cardiovascular health and also good for bone health. You may note that pink grapefruit and guava are two other important fruit sources of lycopene. Health scientists also say that the citrulline content of WM is an amino acid that is also good for blood flow and other aspects of our cardiovascular health.
Some studies show that it may help prevent excess accumulation of fat in fat cells. In a recent study, food scientists found impressive concentrations of phenolic antioxidants, flavonoids, lycopene, and vitamin C in different areas of the inner flesh of WM. The best thing about watermelons is that no area in any of the watermelon of any varieties is bad in terms of nutrients. The outer periphery of the flesh is full of nutrients.
Prior to ripening, a watermelon is primarily white in colour and at this stage its beta-carotene content is almost zero. Through the ripening period it's inside colour changes from white to pink to red. One cup of diced water melon contains 46 calories. Watermelon is a very good source of vitamins A, B and C in addition to good presence of carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fibre, sodium, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more. The presence of triterpenoids make this fruit a good choice for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant health benefits.  Recent research shows that the lycopene content of watermelon remains very stable over time. There is no deterioration of its food value at 36°F (2°C) after 48 hours in the refrigerator!  Perhaps in the near future we (coming generation) will see diabetic and non-diabetic watermelons in our pharmacies or in superstores!
Lose at least 3 Pounds a Week -- follow the Watermelon Diet Plan!
You may shed your extra kilos through regular intake of watermelon in your routine -- with some exercises. The good news is that with WM you don't need to count calories. The WM diet cleans out your body system by clearing the toxins that cause disease.
Tips!    
The seeds of WM are really edible – fried, salted seeds are delicious! Watermelon seeds can provide us with small but helpful amounts of both iron and zinc.  
How to select the best one? It is really difficult to select one from the big stalk as all look same and are almost similar in size. I have noticed that some shopkeepers try to convince throught the sound made by tapping and by telling me the weight -- this is called the Thump test. A ripe watermelon has a hollow sound. The other day, a shopkeeper told me that the colour under the belly (the part attached to the ground/soil) will have some creamy white/light yellowish spots when fully ripe.
Remember to wash the watermelon soon after it enters your kitchen or do that before cutting it.
Please feel free to send me email to share your thoughts, feedback, and photos of your garden, or to tell your story; or ask a question on the garden issue. Email:[email protected].