Botanically classified as Citrullus lantus, watermelons come in various colors including creamy white, salmon, yellow, orange, pink and red.
This variety of watermelon is yellow because of the absence of the antioxidant, lycopene. Lycopene is also best known for making tomatoes red.
The rinds make tender pickles, tasty relish, and can be dehydrated and grinded for a vitamin powder. How did I say pickles? Well most people call watermelon a fruit, which is technically accurate because it is the ripened ovary of a seed plant. However, it is a member of the Citrullus Lantus family, making it relative to cucumbers and pumpkins, so some people also consider it a vegetable. Growers also use the same type of production systems to grow these melons as they do for vegetables adding to the debate.
The original watermelon found growing in South Africa is considered to be a yellow or white flesh variety. Modern modifications on varieties have bred us watermelons with more flavor and consistency in size, texture and disease resistant.
The yellow watermelon is known for it’s extremely sweet taste, and some compare it to honey. The flavor and sweetness does however depend on the conditions which they were grown. Yellow Flesh, Black Diamond, Desert King, Yellow Crimson, Yellow Doll, Buttercup and Tastigold are just some of the varieties of yellow watermelon available.
Smaller ones are called icebox melons because they can usually fit easily in most refrigerators.
The yellow watermelon contains Vitamin A and C, several B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, and phosphorous. These nutrients keep the immune system strong and have great benefits for the heart. They also fight free radicals that damage cells and cause cancer. Most of all they contain lots of water so they are excellent for staying hydrated.
Many people enjoy eating yellow watermelon plain, served in slices or chunks, particularly on hot summer days. Many people also find it to be a great addition to smoothies, cocktails and other drinks. Keep in mind that it is suggested to eat melons alone and separate in time from any other food as they have a very high digestion rate.
Watermelon once cut is likely to spoil within a few days so if you cannot consume it all or you want to have it handy for a snack without the messy/temperature storage issues then DEHYDRATE IT!
Make Watermelon Jerky!!
So what is watermelon jerky?
It is dehydrated watermelon, when cut at about a quarter of an inch gives you a sweet, chewy jerky style texture!
(Pictured: Yellow Watermelon Jerky Strips and Yellow Watermelon chews)
Very sweet and delicious you can take them along and snack anytime! What’s better is that they last a very long time dehydrated and if you want you may reconstitute them by re-moisturizing them! (soaking in spring water)
You can also slice then thin for watermelon chews that are similar in texture to a fruit roll up and equal in sweetness and flavor as the jerkies. Watermelon jerky tends to be “meatier” than chews but either way dehydrated yellow watermelon is for sure a great, healthy sweet treat!
