Still Life with Watermelons and Apples in a Landscape, 1771
Luis Meléndez (Spanish, 1716-1780)
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August 3 is National Watermelon Day so let’s get ready
with some ripe and juicy watermelon tales!
Postscript: Since I wrote this blog post in 2010 I have been blessed with two grandsons. Mason, the oldest at 20 months, has discovered the delicious joy of watermelon. Every time I put a small plate of bite sized pieces in front of him his eyes light up, and with an excited smile he looks at me and says, "Yummmmm."
- Watermelons are thought to be native of the Kalahari desert in Africa, due to David Livingstone describing them as "abundant" in that region.
- Watermelons have been cultivated at least as early as 2000 B.C (there's evidence in the Nile Valley, as noted by Zohary and Hopf). Several watermelon seeds were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen.
- The fruit was cultivated in Asia (China in particular) by the end of the 9th century A.D. and introduced to Europe by the Moor invasion in the 13th century.
- There are legends about watermelons in Vietnam. According to folklore, it was discovered by Prince Mai An Tiêm, a prince of the Hung. He was exiled on an island, with the condition that if he could survive for six months, he could go back to his castle: he prayed for help, and a bird flying by dropped a watermelon seed on the ground. When the prince cultivated the seed, he called the fruit dua tây (western melon), since the bird had come from the West. The prince eventually survived and went back home. (Read a version of the story below.)
- Watermelons were introduced to North America in 1500, and Native Americans were found cultivating them by French explorers in the Mississippi valley.
- Other sources believe the fruit was introduced in Massachusetts in 1629.
- Jerry Parsons, a Texas Agricultural Extension horticulturalist, states that the crop was grown by Native Americans in Florida (by 1664) and the Colorado River area (by 1799).
http://www.watermelon.org/Kids/Kids-WatermelonFacts.aspx
http://www.burpee.com/fruit-plants/melon-seeds/watermelon/all-about-watermelons-article10022.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon
http://tinyurl.com/y9kyzjj
http://tinyurl.com/ya9topl
http://tinyurl.com/y9vaja7
http://tinyurl.com/ybx2how
CRAFTS
http://voices.yahoo.com/summertime-watermelon-crafts-activities-6136010.html
Willy Watermelon Paper Craft
http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/mwatermelon.htm
Teacher's Guide
- More curriculum ideas than watermelons have seeds!
http://www.theteachersguide.com/booklessons/watermelonday/watermelonday.htm
Quench your summertime thirst with this
delicious recipe.
Watermelon Smoothie
http://www.watermelon.org/Recipes/Watermelon-Recipes.aspx?SearchTerm=smoothie&SearchType=Recipes
Health Benefits of Watermelon
http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/watermelon.html
SONGS AND FINGERPLAYS
4 comments:
Love the stories . . . and the watermelon-strawberry smoothie is awesome too!
-Martha
Hi Martha,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! It is hot, hot, hot here today so that smoothie sounds like a great idea! :)
Karen
The agua fresca for me. I've made that many a time, with various fruits, and it's always refreshing. A glug or two of vodka or rum added can enhance the flavour as needed. Thanks, lovely blog post. (As ever, but this is the first time I've left a comment.)--Mario R.
Hi Mario,
Your post made me smile. :)
The "additional ingredients" sound great! Thanks for stopping by.
Karen
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