I absolutely love watermelon. In summer, the refrigerator nearly always holds a big bowl of freshly cut watermelon. Today, while standing in the kitchen, I consider, like anyone living with flair, the where and why and how and when. I learn about the 5,000 year history of the watermelon. I read origin stories of this delicious fruit; watermelon comes to us by way of the Kalahari Desert in Africa and then Egypt, spreading next via merchant ships on the Mediterranean Sea.
I read how Mark Twain once wrote that to taste a watermelon was to know “what angels eat.” I read how the Hebrews tithed watermelons as something pleasing to God.
Indeed!
I also know that people pickle watermelon rinds. I will add this to my collection of pickled things. I learn of recipes with mint and feta, of popsicles and cool drinks, of sorbets and salsas. Oh, the watermelon!
All summer, I’ll enjoy the ancient pleasure of watermelon.