Few foods are as tied to a Southern summer as watermelon. It turns up at church picnics, Fourth of July cookouts and roadside stands, cut into wedges and eaten over the porch rail with juice running down to the elbows. It is more than ninety percent water, which helps explain why it tastes like relief on a hot day. Its story, though, begins far from Georgia.
An ancient fruit from Africa
Watermelon’s wild ancestors grew in Africa, and people there have eaten and cultivated melons for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians grew them, depicted them in tomb art and placed watermelon seeds among the provisions for the afterlife; seeds have been found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. From North Africa, watermelon spread around the Mediterranean, into the Middle East and India and eventually to China, which today grows more watermelon than any other country.
Watermelon in the American South
Watermelon arrived in the Americas with European colonists and with enslaved Africans, who brought both seeds and long knowledge of the fruit. It flourished in the long, hot growing season of the South. By the nineteenth century it was a common crop across the region, and it became woven into Southern summer life.
Georgia remains one of the country’s leading watermelon-growing states, especially in its southern counties. The town of Cordele has long called itself the Watermelon Capital of the World, a title it carries with good humor and pride.
Seedless watermelons, now the most common kind in stores, were developed in the twentieth century by crossing plants with different numbers of chromosomes to produce fruit that cannot form mature seeds. The small, pale, soft seeds you sometimes find in them are simply undeveloped seed coats.
Choosing a good one
- Look for the field spot. A creamy yellow patch on one side shows where the melon rested on the ground while it ripened. White or pale green may mean it was picked early.
- Feel the weight. A ripe melon feels heavy for its size.
- Check the rind. A dull rather than glossy surface is often a good sign.
- Give it a thump if you like. Many people listen for a deep, hollow sound, though this one is more tradition than science.
Simple ways to enjoy it
Rinse the rind before cutting, since a knife can carry anything on the outside into the fruit. Keep cut watermelon covered in the refrigerator and eat it within a few days.
Beyond the classic wedge, try cubes tossed with mint and a squeeze of lime, a few frozen cubes dropped into a glass of water or a salad of watermelon, cucumber and a little salty cheese. Pickled watermelon rind is an old Southern tradition that makes good use of the whole melon.
Best of all, eat it the old way: outside, on a hot afternoon, with someone you like and nobody worrying about the mess. There is a reason watermelon has lasted thousands of years. Some pleasures do not need improving.