Last year, Americans ate an average of 16 pounds a person, down a bit from the record of 17.4 pounds a person in 1966.
Perhaps all those watermelon fans already know that a chilled wedge is not the only way to enjoy this fruit. What about drinking it instead?
Watermelon is easy to seed, pulverize and season to serve over ice with or without a splash of vodka, rum, wine or other alcohol. The juice is an excellent sweetener for iced tea or sangria. And chilled or frozen watermelon can also be pureed to tint and flavor some classic cocktails like margaritas and daiquiris.
When shopping for watermelons, which are often sold cut, look for flesh that is firm and bright, without any splits and grainy areas. The latest additions to the market are yellow-fleshed ones and seedless or triploid varieties, both of which taste about the same but cost more than the garden Godzillas.
Any of these are perfectly suited to making watermelon drinks. But why spend more than necessary? And considering that watermelons are 92 percent water, you do not have to do much to them to get them into a glass.
Watermelon has an all-American image, one that goes along with hot summer days, picnics at the beach and back-yard cookouts. But this does not give enough credit to a fruit that has been refreshing people since ancient times.
Botanists believe that watermelons originated in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa, based on the reports of the explorer David Livingstone, who found vines there in the mid-19th Century.
The vines were also cultivated in Egypt at least 5,000 years ago and are depicted in wall paintings there. (Cubes of watermelon with salty, feta-like cheese are still a favorite Egyptian breakfast.)
Watermelons followed the trade routes throughout the Middle East to Central Asia, China and Europe. Just imagine trading caravans provisioned with the quenching melons, the merchants munching on refreshing wedges, spitting the seeds and thus inadvertently sowing the crop wherever they traveled.
The fruit made its way to America, most likely on slave ships. Thomas Jefferson planted what he called “Neapolitan watermelons” in his garden in 1773, but they were already growing in other parts of the country, including New England. The American taste for watermelon goes back a long time.
Now, 86 percent of all households in the U.S. buy watermelon at least once a year, and 73 percent of them buy it once a month, according to the National Watermelon Promotion Board.
More than 4 billion pounds of watermelons were harvested in the United States last year, mainly in California, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Nonetheless, nearly 600 million pounds were imported into the United States, mainly from Mexico, to meet the demand.
COYOTE CAFE WATERMELON COOLER
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 serving
1 1/2 cups cubed, seeded watermelon
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sugar
Mint sprigs, for garnish
1. Place watermelon, lime juice and sugar in blender; process on high speed until smooth.
2. Fill 12-ounce glass with ice cubes; pour watermelon mixture over ice. Garnish with mint.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 105 Fat ………… 1 g Saturated fat .. 0.1 g
% calories from fat … 8 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium ………. 5 mg
Carbohydrates …… 26 g Protein …… 1.7 g Fiber ………. 1.4 g
WATERMELON SPARKLER
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
3 cups cubed, seeded watermelon
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 bottle (375 milliliters) sparkling wine
1. Place watermelon and sugar in blender; process until smooth.
2. Half-fill 8 Champagne flutes with watermelon mixture. Slowly pour sparkling wine into each flute to fill. Serve at once.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 55 Fat ………… 0.3 g Saturated fat .. 0 g
% calories from fat .. 4 Cholesterol ….. 0 mg Sodium …….. 5 mg
Carbohydrates …… 6 g Protein …….. 0.5 g Fiber …….. 0.3 g
WATERMELON AND RED WINE DRINK
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Adapted from “My Mexico,” by Diana Kennedy (to be published this fall by Crown).
3 1/2 pounds watermelon (about 1/4 whole melon)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dark brown sugar to taste, optional
2 cups chilled, full-bodied dry red wine
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1. Cut watermelon flesh into large pieces. Discard white part and rind. Cut central part of flesh without seeds into enough tiny cubes to make 1 cup. Refrigerate.
2. Put remaining flesh into food processor fitted with metal blade and pulse to puree without breaking seeds. Strain. Stir in lime juice and vanilla and sugar to taste. Cover; refrigerate.
3. Mix red wine and watermelon puree just before serving. Serve in goblets, straight up or over ice, topped with some cubes of watermelon and pecans in each glass.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 185 Fat ………… 7 g Saturated fat .. 0.5 g
% calories from fat .. 29 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium ……… 11 mg
Carbohydrates …… 23 g Protein …… 1.7 g Fiber ………. 2.2 g
