Facts about Watermelons
Watermelon has a smooth exterior rind (green and yellow) and a juicy, sweet, usually pink, red, or yellow, but sometimes orange, interior flesh. According to John Mariani's The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, "watermelon" made its first appearance in an English dictionary in 1615. Moorish invaders introduced the watermelon to Europe. China is today the world's single largest watermelon producer.[2007] Watermelon is believed to have originated in Kalahari desert. According to legend, watermelon was discovered by Prince Mai An Tiêm, an adopted son of the 11th Hùng King. When he was exiled unjustly to an island, he was told that if he could survive for six months, he would be allowed to return. When he prayed for guidance, a bird flew past and dropped a seed. He cultivated the seed and called its fruit "dua tây" or western melon, because the birds who ate it flew from the west. Numerous watermelon seeds were recovered from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. David Livingstone, an explorer of Africa, described watermelon as abundant in the Kalahari desert. By the 10th century AD, watermelons were being cultivated in China. It is not known when the plant was first cultivated, but Zohary and Hopf note evidence of its cultivation in the Nile Valley from at least as early as the second millennium BC. As with many other fruits, it is a source of vitamin C. Watermelon contains about six percent sugar by weight, the rest being mostly water. In Japan, farmers of the Zentsuji region found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape is designed to make the melons easier to stack and store. Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed. |
SEARCH
Sponsors
Related Links |