A warm weather staple in the South, watermelon is synonymous with long summer days spent at the beach. Though it seems like distinctly American food, the fruit we’re familiar has come a long way over the last 5,000 years. The precursor to the modern watermelon was first cultivated in northeastern Africa and undomesticated varieties still grow wild in the deserts of Egypt and Sudan today.[1] These proto-watermelons were bitter and unappetizing, but fortunately, the modern Citrullus lanatus found in grocery stores is soft, sweet, and refreshing. (more…)
