Water-melon is a berry of two seasons. Although we can see some desperate specimens of it already in the middle of summer, it’s still better to start eating water-melons since end of August-beginning of September.

- Even experts cannot determine water-melon ripeness according to its appearance with 100% guarantee.
- Water-melon is a plant of gourd family.
- This is a large false berry.
- In 2003 experts inoculated wild water-melon with fructose, the sweetest one of all kids of sugar, and this way grew a new sort of this berry, which contains 20-40% less calories, than usual water-melon.
- In 2005 cubic water-melons appeared in China and Japan for the first time. According to a commercial, “these water-melons are ideal to keep in fridge”. Such miracle costed about 90$. To give a cubic shape to a water melon, farmers, growing it, placed water-melons in glass boxes during growth. According to manufacturers, besides shelf-stable convenience, square water-melons’ advantage is that they don’t roll down the table. However, perfection knows no limits: farmers already grow pyramidal water-melons successfully. And they look so great on a table!

There’re almost no contra-indications for eating water-melon. Water-melon consists of water (up to 80% of fruit weight), fructose, microelements and vegetable cellulose. And as 30-40 g of fructose are assimilated by organism without insulin consumption, even people, suffering from achrestic diabetes, can eat water-melon – they can eat 200-300 g of water-melon per day.

Water-melon is a well of magnesium, which is important for stable arterial pressure in organism, biliation and deactivation of cholesterol, for connection of oxalates and prevention of calculi formation in kidneys, reduction of nervous excitability, relieving muscular spasms, normalization of intestinal motility. To provide a magnesium 24-hour requirement, you need to eat 150 g of water-melon.

Water-melon taste is determined by its sugariness. The more sugar, the tastier a water-melon is. Water-melon sugar consists of sucrose, glucose and fructose. Water-melon contains pectin substances, vitamins B1, B2, C, PP, folacin and carotene. Its seeds contain fixed oil. Folk medicine uses water-melon juice and pulp to slake thirst during feverishness.

Diuretic effect of water-melon is also well-known: they recommend to eat it while edemata, connected with cardiovascular and kidneys diseases. Fresh water-melon rind broth is a good diuretic also. When there’re no fresh water-melons, folk medicine advises using dried water-melon rind as a diuretic, you should prepare a broth in proportion 1:10.

If you suffer from liver diseases, it’s good to drink water-melon juice: it not only contributes to leading out of liquid from organism, but also nourishes hepatic tissue with digestible sugars.

Water-melon pulp cellulose contributes to improvement of beneficial microorganisms vital functions in intestinal flora, improves digestion and contributes to leading out of cholesterol. Folacin and vitamin C, contained in water-melon, have anti-sclerotic effect. Water-melons are also used to treat anemia, calculi formation.

100 g of water-melon contain 38 calories – this are the best news! Water-melon is rich in iron, necessary for hemocytogenesis, it helps while anemia. It’s also efficient in cases, when a human is subjected to industrial or domestic (for example, alcohol) intoxications. If you have no contra-indications, you can try a so-called “water-melon diet”, when you should eat only water-melons and black bread during 3-4 days.

The right choice

Choice of water-melon – is a responsible and sweet business.

Ruses of choice:

- if you pierce or damage a water-melon, it won’t live even a week. So, you shouldn’t buy damaged – pierced, even slightly cracked – water-melons categorically.
- dry pedicle – is not always a sign of ripeness: a water-melon could have been picked green and dry up later. It’s much more important to look closely at that place, where end grows from, a so-called “button”. If it’s prominent with light horny edges, then it’s a truer sign of a ripe water-melon.
- if you knock at a ripe water-melon, you will hear a dull sound.
- if you gripe a water-melon with your hands and it will begin to crack, you can buy it bravely.
- there’s a so-called earth spot from below of water-melon. It should be yellow, not white.
- you can easily scratch a ripe water-melon: using your nail, you will easily remove upper coat of rind.
- if a water-melon is big and light, it’s ripe.
- never ask to cut out a piece of water-melon to show you – you definitely infect it.
- yellow (not white-pink) veins say that water-melon pulp contains nitrates.
- choose a middle-sized water-melon (5-7 kg), if you’re going to eat water-melons in a big company – it’s better to take several small ones, than a 20 kg one.

Well, of course, a famous water-melon rind jam: remove upper coat from 1 kg of water-melon rind, leaving green pulp. Cut pulp in thin pieces (of any shape – to your taste) and boil in water slightly. Draft water, and put rind in a syrup, prepared of 1,5 kg of sugar and 2 glasses of water, and boil till it becomes clear. In the end of boiling add 2 g of citric acid, and jam will obtain an emerald color.

Aesthetes will like molds for water-melon salad. Salad is put in plates in a form of boats. Cut a piece of water-melon, remove seeds, cut off rind and put pulp on a plate – this will be a boat itself. Peel off an orange, remove seeds, cut in thin slices and put under water-melon, like water under a boat. You can attach a mint leave, as a small flag, on top of a “sail”.

Peel for skin

Of course, water-melon is good also for external use. You can prepare a cleaning and nourishing face pack both from water-melon pulp and seeds. If you prefer pulp, take one cup of pulp and whip to receive homogeneous paste. Put on face and cover with a towel on top. You can add yogurt (for greasy skin) or banana (for dry skin). You should rinse face pack in 15 minutes.

If you ate pulp, don’t throw away seeds: grind them in coffee-grinder, then add boiled warm water in paste and put mask on face for 10-15 minutes.

If your skin is reddened or sunburned, face packs from mixture of water-melon pulp and cucumber, taken in equal proportions, will be efficient. Face pack is applied on skin for 20 minutes.

- before usage you need to wash a water-melon and rinse it with boiled water. Doctors affirm that nitrates on surface are much more dangerous, than those inside of a water-melon.

If you want to eat water-melons not only during a month, try to keep them. For this you need to hang them in nets in a dry cool cellar or put in boxes with ashes.

Water-melon recipes

Yes, if you are suddenly fed up with eating them as they are, you can cook them. For example, pickle them. They take not only ripe, but also half-ripe water-melons, pierce them with a sharp stick and put in a strong pickle (800 g of salt for 10 liters of water). Water-melons will be ready in about a month.

And if you boil down water-melon juice, then you will receive a very sweet water-melon honey, good for long storage.

If you’re a thirsty gourmet, cook water-melon milk: pound ground water-melon seeds in cold water in proportion 1:10. Although, it seems more difficult, than pigeon’s milk.

For water-melon drinks fans they cook wonderful ice: they cut water-melon in pieces, remove seeds, cutt off rind and whip. Then they pour it in ice mold and freeze.

How to eat water-melon correctly

Of course, in privy you should definitely eat water-melon with your hands, pouring its juice over yourself, spitting out seeds and laughing loudly. This way decent happy people eat water-melon. But when you’re at a reception or at your future mother-in-law’s place, you should observe other rules.

Most often water-melon is served cut in slices with rind. They put a slice on a plate with its pulp to you, and rind- from you. They eat it with help of a knife and fork with small pieces, removing seeds from each cut piece beforehand. Water-melon hunk with rind is taken from a common dish with one or two hands, then fingers are wiped with a tissue. It’s not recommended to cut water-melon or melon hunks in small pieces with rind, and then take each piece in turn with hand and eat pulp from rind, spitting out seeds on a plate.

But, frankly speaking, those who are experts in water-melons, eat it only sinking in pulp, smearing juice from elbows to face and going out to buy a new water-melon in such state. And the most interesting thing is that other people understand them. It’s water-melon season!