Ah the watermelon, summer’s golden child. If you’ve attended a BBQ this summer, it’s hard not to notice this staple cool and colorful treat at every event! And with good reason – they come in a wide array of sizes with flesh that can be red, pink, yellow, or orange, they’re the perfect refreshing treat on a hot day, and are soaked with vitamins and potassium. Watermelon is so fun and versatile, with both sweet and savory applications. It’s safe to say the modern watermelon is converting more people into fans everyday!

This week we wanted to show the watermelon a little more love before the summer ends and we must wait another year for the perfect juicy ripe melon to return. Read on for fun facts and recipes galore!

How to Choose

Tap a ripe melon and you’ll hear a hollow thump. The rind should be smooth, round, and unblemished, with a yellow spot on one side where the melon sat on the ground, ripening in the sun.

How to Store

Store whole melons in a cool spot. Cover cut watermelon and refrigerate up to 4 days.

Fun Facts!

• Melons need heat to sweeten; summer and early fall is their prime.
• Watermelon is both a fruit and a vegetable. It’s considered a fruit because it grows from a seed, and a vegetable because it is a member of the same family as the cucumber, pumpkin and squash.
• All parts of a watermelon can be eaten, even the rind, which actually contains a number of nutrients too. In China the rind is used as a vegetable and stir-fried, stewed or pickled. In some areas the seeds are roasted and eaten (much like pumpkin seeds).
• They are 92% water, making them very aptly named!
•  There are 1200 varieties, but they tend to be grouped into four main categories: seeded (or picnic), seedless, icebox (also known as mini, or personal size) and yellow/orange.
• Early explorers used watermelons as canteens as early as 5,000 years ago.
• Farmers in Japan have started growing cube shaped watermelons by growing them in glass boxes where they assume the shape of the box. Originally this was done to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the novelty of the cubic watermelon can fetch double the price of a normal one at market.