Watermelon

Posted bySarahPosted in#WorldWatercolorMonth, Art, water colorTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Water melon
Water Melon (watercolor and micron ink on paper, July 2018)

 

The watermelon is a flowering plant that originated in northeast Africa, where it is found growing wild.

Evidence for its cultivation as been found in the Nile Valley from the second Millennium BC onward and seeds have been found at Twelfth Dynasty sites and in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Nowadays China is the world’s single largest watermelon producer (in 2016 it produced for example 79.043.138 tons of watermelon, followed by Turkey, the second largest producer with only 3.928.892!).

 

I don´t know about you, but I just love eating watermelons, especially on a hot summer´s day. When I was a kid I used to bite into the slice with no regards to where the juice was running – mostly unto my T-Shirt. 😉 Now as an adult, I chop the watermelon up into much smaller triangles and arrange them on a nice platter. But the sensation of biting into that sweet juicy flesh is just the same – utterly heavenly!

Though I have to admit that I´m one of those people carefully spitting out every single seed – I just can’t stand them! If I´m lucky however I can get my hands on a seedless watermelon – but to be honest, there´s something odd about them in my mind. Of course, it´s lovely not to have to spit every few seconds but somehow it just doesn’t seem natural to me.

In India however the seeds are much more appreciated and ground into baking flour.  And in the Middle East, south-western Asia and China the seeds are being roasted and then eaten as a snack. I tried it once but found the hull of the seeds was just too hard and thick for me to get through.

You have to be careful though when you buy already cut water melons as they can be a source for salmonella poisoning when not having been handled with appropriate care and have been kept at room-temperature for too long.

That´s why I always buy a whole water melon and slice it up myself. Just like I did with the one in my painting. 🙂

Do you like water melons? Any cool recipes? Tricks on how to avoid the seeds? Let me know in your comments!

 

Published by Sarah

Artist & Illustrator

85 thoughts on “Watermelon”

    1. Thank you, Bette! As luscious as my painting might be it can’t beat the real thing. 😂 Just bought a new one today as it’s going to hot, hot, hot the coming week!
      Never had watermelon rind pickles but am very curious about it – what does it taste like?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. That sounds delicous indeed! And it´s also supposed to be healthy so that´s a double bonus! 😀 Thank you, Bette, and have a fabulous Sunday, my friend! Hugs! ❤

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Diana! I didn’t know this either before I googled it.
      Wow, a whole watermelon in one sitting! I only manage a half one and the rest goes to the fridge! 😄

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Your painting is really lovely Sarah. You have captured the light on the cut slice so well.

    The Big T claims to be a huge watermelon fan so I buy them for him. But somehow he forgets to eat them. At one stage “melon” was our family’s word for anything that we bought and then neglected to use.

    I like the taste of watermelon, but do find it a bit fiddly to eat. Watermelon and feta salad is yummy though (especially if someone else has prepared it).

    BTW: I’m so sorry I haven’t responded to your posts recently. They have stopped coming up in my reader 😦
    xxxxxx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Su! I painted this from a live “model” so to speak and it was quite hard not to tuck in!! 😀 Afterwards though… 😉

      Hehe! Love how “melon” has become a synonym for bought and then neglected things in your family. 🙂 Maybe the Big T should buy the melon next time himself? My mum did this with me when I was a teenager and it worked. I used to open all kind of cereal boxes at the same time, never caring to finish them up before opening another one and then claiming the other ones have gone stale and I wouldn´t eat them anymore. She simply refused to buy them for me, and so I did and valued all the effort that was put behind it. (Afterwards she did buy them again because I´ve learned my lesson. 😉 )

      P.S. Don´t worry about not having responded to my posts – maybe you accidentally un-followed me? It happens to me all the time and then I´m too embarrassed to click “follow” again and just try to think of everyone I left out on my rounds through the blogs I follow. Or if you haven´t, just click “un-follow” and then “follow” again, that should do the trick. 🙂 xxxxxxx

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Hehe. I know the temptation of nibbling on the “model” — I photographed a salad today and had to keep a bit aside to snack on so I could concentrate. I really shouldn’t photograph things before lunch, but on the other hand if i don’t, the food goes to waste. xxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That´s actually a very good idea to keep something aside to nibble on while busy photographing or painting! Will do this next time! Danny Gregory also kept complaining about his food growing cold – lol! The pain of being an artist, I guess. 😉 xxxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Hehe. You’d think that photography would be faster than painting, but I seem to take forever staging and lighting shots these days. Did I tell you that T bought me a set of playing tweezers so I can get each little element in the right spot on the plate. I use them too 😂😂 xxxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Exactly! Like “Hey, I´ve got an iPhone8 why am I not posting in the National Geographic?!” 😉 Btw – I don´t have an iPhone so gladly I don´t have to wonder about these things – lol! 😀 xxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      7. Hehe. 😂😂 That explains everything. I only have an iPhone 4. Clearly I’ll have to upgrade before National Geographic will take me seriously. T bought me that phone eight years ago and it still works. I think it might be the oldest iPhone still in circulation. I am capitalism’s worst nightmare. xxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      8. If you´re capitalism´s worst nightmare I wonder what my mum is? Because I bought her a smartphone a couple of weeks ago and now she´s back to her old one with which you can´t even access the internet and that has still buttons instead of a screen! She claimed that she couldn´t handle the new one and that it made her totally nervous. I´ve seen her practicing with it and actually get what she means – somehow her fingers don´t seem to connect well with the screen, maybe they are too dry from working with all that clay. And it isn´t just her phone but mine as well so we can rule out that the new one isn´t functioning well.
        xxxxxxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      9. 😀 I can understand your mum’s frustration and reluctance too. It’s tough enough with new technologies, but when they don’t seem to actually do what they are meant to, it is really stressful. xxxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

      10. That´s right! And also she would still only use it to telephone I think – imagine that: someone using his “phone” to “telephone” someone instead of shooting pictures, making a video, watching a video, listening to music, google something… LOL! 😀 xxxxxxx

        Liked by 1 person

  5. I love your watermelon facts & painting! So fun!

    We eat mostly seedless watermelons as the kids don’t like seeds either! When we have space in the fridge, we buy the whole melon to cut up! One of my favourite ways to eat the fruit when it is getting very ripe is to blitz it and make a drink with soda water.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Oh, yummy, Sarah! Wonderful painting, and I love watermelons, too. I always buy the seedless smaller ones and cut up into small triangles like you do. But, I used to have a melon baller that my mom used, which is kind of cool. Have you heard of them? 🙂 It disappeared over the years, though, so now it’s triangles. Anyway, enjoy and have a good rest of your week! ❤😊🍉🍉🍉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Lauren! 🙂 Aren´t watermelons fantastic? It´s my ultimate summer food and I sometimes catch myself dreaming of them during winter! 😀
      Oh, I love those melon balls – so lovely to look at! And some people can make the most beautiful art out from a melon – much too beautiful to even think of eating them! But of course, if you don´t it´ll just rot and that would be a waste too.
      Have a wonderful Wednesday and a beautiful rest of the week, dear friend! Love! 🙂 xoxo ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. I love your watercolor of the watermelon. I LOVE watermelon, period. I didn’t know how much until I was pregnant with my first born. I began to crave watermelon and ate a huge one all by myself. My poor husband only got one piece. I craved it all the way through my pregnancy even though watermelon was hard to come by in late November. 🙂 My son LOVES watermelon more than you can imagine. I think it was his craving that started it. 😉 They pickle the rinds in the south and even make jam out of it. Southern people let nothing go to waste. Thanks for sharing the history. I never thought about it before.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much for your wonderful comment, Marlene! Wow! A whole watermelon all by yourself – that is impressive! No wonder your son loves it too. 😉 My mum ate lots of pumpkin and sunflower seeds during her pregnancy and guess what´s my favorite snack? Exactly – pumpkin and sunflower seeds! 😀
      I´ve heard about pickling or cooking the rind, they do it also in Africa. I´ve never tried it though I´ve always felt a bit ashamed of the amounts of rinds that went to the compost. Maybe I´ll give it a try next time I´m cutting a watermelon. 😉
      Have a beautiful Sunday with hopefully lots of watermelon! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  11. I love the watermelon painting, and I love watermelon too! They are really good this time of year, and I have just cut one up this afternoon for my family to enjoy. In my opinion, watermelon is almost addictive. I also like watermelon salad and watermelon sangria. Sadly, I don’t have the recipe for either, but if I’m eating out and find it on the menu, that’s a good thing!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Ann! And I totally agree: watermelon is almost addictive! Luckily in a good way. 😉 I´ve come across a recipe where you can inject the melon with vodka via a syringe – never tried it but it sounds like cool idea for a summer party. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Sarah,
        I had to smile at your saying “watermelon is almost addictive” I wish wish wish I were addicted to watermelon instead of refined sugar & carbohydrates . . . somehow watermelon cake just doesn’t work even without seeds.
        Your art, however, can be quite addictive and there are no calories.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Aww – that must be one of the nicest things someone has ever said about my art! Thank you so much! 🙂
        Ah yes, refined sugar & carbohydrates – you can´t do without them or with them! 😂 Offer me some cake over a watermelon and I very likely will eat the cake, except if it´s a really hot day, then I´m all for fruits and salads. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I’ll second that. Add some avocado and it’s even better. If you have the energy, chop all three things into cubes and arrange them in a sort of checkered pattern on a platter.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Tracy! That’s too bad that you can’t eat watermelon anymore, I didn’t knew it could make the blood glucose level so high as I was thinking of it being more or less water with a lovely taste. Do you have the same problems with many kind of fruit?
      And I think you’re right about the seedless ones having less flavour. 😊

      Like

      Reply

  14. I love the refreshing taste of a water melon too. Thank you for the advice to buy whole water melons to avoid contracting salmonella! Seedless water melons? It doesn’t seem right to me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome, Peter! I know how inviting it can be to buy the already cut ones, especially for singles or elderly people who don’t have much of an appetite anymore and would think that a whole one is just too much for them.
      Which is why they are also producing and selling relatively small ones as well – a pretty good idea I think. And although I’m not a fan of the seeds the seedless ones don’t seem right to me either.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. Your painting is everything excellent about watermelons. Watermelon is a wonderful fruit, redolent of summer and families. When I was a kid, watermelon was often served at summer camp, all of us sitting on the grass, eating and spitting the seeds, dribbling juice all down our arms. Now I cut one nearly every time we get together with our family. My granddaughter finds watermelon one of the basic food groups – strawberries are another, at least to her.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much, Shari! And I think your granddaughter’s got that absolutely right. 😉 I would add cherries as another vital food group. 😄 Family and watermelon – it’s just a perfect combination and I hope you’ll have many of those moments this summer!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. I do have a true watermelon story from Little House on the Prairie. Pa and Ma and all the settlers were coming down with ‘fever’n ague’. Many were dying. In the summer they went berry picking down in the creek bottoms. The mosquitoes were terrible. Everybody back then thought that the fever ‘n ague came from eating the watermelons that grew in the creek bottoms. They were poisonous, said all. This common belief was confirmed by my grandmother. It turns out that fever ‘n ague was malaria, and came from the mosquitoes, not the watermelon. I love that story! It’s a great chapter in the book, too. And, your watermelon painting as story are excellent! Thank you, Sarah.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for adding this true story, Jennie! I haven’t heard of it before – really need to read that book! At least these people had a bad feeling about the creek where most of the mosquitoes lived so that was some help. My greatgrandmother like so many of her generation believed tomatoes to be unhealthy because they weren’t used to it around here. The plant as I’m sure you know actually is a bit poisonous but luckily its fruits are not. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You’re welcome, Sarah! Glad you enjoyed the story. The Laura Ingalls Wilder books really are good. They’re my classroom real-alouds at the end of the school year. I had heard the tomato story of long ago. There must be many such beliefs of different foods. So funny! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I remember watching and enjoying the television series when I was a child and bet the books are even better. Thanks again for the story and for reminding myself that i need to read the books. 😄

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I knew you would! And good for you that you don’t mind the seeds, I’ve read they are full of vitamins and minerals not unlike the ones in grapes! Have an amazing weekend too my brother! 😄💕

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  19. I like everything in this post. The drawing, the meaningful information and your writing… Just delicious! I like to eat watermelon with cayenne pepper and feta cheese. Yummy.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Dominique! I’m so glad you liked this post! Watermelon with feta cheese seems to be a favourite combination among my friends here, I will definitely have to give it a try soon! Have a happy weekend my friend! xoxo

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. Extremely fun fact; the rind of watermelon contains an abundance of a chemical with similar properties to the active ingredient in Viagra. Happy summertime, everybody. 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Now that’s something I didn’t know before! Thanks for adding this information, Oglach. I only knew that people in Africa are cooking the rind and eat it but my guess is that cooking would probably destroy this specific chemicals in the fruit.
      Have a happy summertime too! 😄

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. What about a watermelon juice to quench your thirst in the summer? The salad with watermelon sounds great, Sarah, and so is your still life painting!! Have a beautiful weekend… 😃 ⚘ ❤

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Iris! And watermelon juice sounds wonderful! It’s going to be a hot weekend here and the only thing in the menu will be lots of fruit: cherries, black and red currants, melons, apricots and peaches! 😄 The joys of summer! Have a lovely weekend, my friend! xoxo 😄💕🐨🍉🍑🍒

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  22. Thank you Sarah! 🙂 I had no idea regarding the origin of watermelon. I really enjoy learning this sort of thing. It’s something I can definitely use in my current novel, based in the south, Tennessee/Mississippi. :-). And oh, yeah, I love watermelon.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  25. My characters in my upcoming book live in NE Africa (the Rift Valley) but about 850000 years ago. I wonder if watermelon existed back then. I’ll be googling that.

    Gorgeous picture, BTW!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  26. Great watercolor, Sarah! It’s making my mouth water. I love watermelon. In fact, we have some in the refrigerator now. I typically purchase the seedless melons. They still have a few tiny white seeds, but not the larger black ones. Enjoy your day! ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks a lot, Jill! Did you know that the Japanese invented watermelons in form of cubes? They are perfect for storing in the fridge. 😉 Have a happy Friday! ❤

      Like

      Reply

  27. This is a fantastic watermelon and it makes me hungry! There is nothing better especially in the heat. I must admit, I like the seeds. One of my favorite recipes is watermelon salad with a little red onion, cucumber, and feta cheese. Hugs 🌞💗

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Lisa! And your recipe sounds delicious – now I want to eat this salad! 😄 I’ve learned today that the seed actually are carrying most of the vitamins and minerals not unlike the seeds in grapes – so it’s a really good thing you like them. 😉💕

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply