One of my jobs when visiting my parents is to unload the groceries from the trunk of the car; keep in mind, Mom is in her late 80s and Dad will be 92 in a few weeks. Dad couldn’t wait to cut up the 15-pound watermelon he carefully chose once I gently put it on the counter. While carrying the large, seedless melon into the kitchen, I was thinking about some creative recipes incorporating the fruit.
Or perhaps vegetable? It is a much-debated discussion. Botanically, it is a cousin to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash. I am intrigued by the watermelon recipes in the food publications I read.
With summer being the peak season of its consumption in the U.S., it is time to celebrate with a juicy slice and prepare creative recipes.
(National Watermelon Day was Aug. 3.) Thanks to countries like Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras that experience summer during our winter, watermelon can be enjoyed all year.
In my culinary travels, I’ve noticed that restaurants have incorporated watermelon as a featured ingredient in their dishes. It is among the fastest-growing “fruits” in terms of use on food-service menus, having grown by 54% in the past few years, according to a recent menu trends study commissioned by the National Watermelon Promotion Board. According to the Board, 65% of food service operators feature fresh watermelon on the menu, up from 38% in 2020 and 50% in 2022.
One in 10 restaurants serving alcoholic beverages feature a drink containing waterm.