22. Watermelon

There is something inherently American about watermelon and summer time.  I am always reminded of picnics and watermelon seed spitting contests.  Or there was always someone’s pickled watermelon rinds.  As a kid I felt that I could die peacefully by drowning (I loved water) but to drown in the sweet cinnamon-y syrup of pickled watermelon rinds would be heaven.  Those are the childhood memories of my Americana and watermelon but I am still enamored of the fruit.  I don’t know why watermelon has the reputation of being southern (except maybe for its need for a long growing season) because it is so abundant here in the Northwest though it’s pretty hard for many of us in Idaho to grow it in our backyard gardens.  Hermiston watermelon (from Oregon) is very famous about this time of year in these parts, but they are, however delicious, gigantic.  A newer thing is the oh-so-sweet Dulcinea or “personal” watermelon that I have come to prize.  It’s just as good as the seeded and overgrown Hermiston but it also fits in my refrigerator just fine.  But to be honest, the only reason I’m picky is the size.  I even tasted a yellow fleshed watermelon a couple weeks ago and I really liked it no matter how much it looked like cantaloupe.  I don’t see watermelon disappearing from the American landscape anytime soon and for that American summertime tradition I am grateful.