Watermelon
from Italian Traditional Food

Watermelon makes a great dessert

Check out these great Italian ideas at Amazon for Italian food and kitchen ideas.

There are a great many forms of dessert that can be found in Italy. One of the most popular desserts is something that can be found just about everywhere else in the world, Melone D'Acqua or watermelon is a favorite just about anywhere you go.

There are many wonderful summertime dishes that incorporate watermelon, and you can even find this great fruit served up in some great cocktails as well. Italians enjoy foods of all varieties and styles, and they are willing to try just about anything to add a great recipe to their cookbooks. The use of this watermelon in various dishes, only offers them more options when it comes time for the closing course of any great meal.

In Great Company

When it is time to categorize a watermelon, this fruit really is in fine company. The watermelon is related to the squash and zucchini, and it is also related to cantaloupe and cucumber as well. The melon actually originated from tropical regions of Africa, and was brought to Europe by crusaders that were returning from trips. It was the Egyptians that first cultivated this large yet tasty fruit, as it was a good source of safe water to drink.

The watermelon actually is 93% water, and this made this fruit not only a wonderful addition to the dinner table but a safety in the event of pollutants in water that they normally drank from.

Aside from the convenience of safe water to drink, it also must be noted that this fruit contains great health benefits as well. With the likes of vitamin a and c, and a liberal helping of potassium, this fruit helped replenish strength in the summer months as the temperature started to rise.

Healthy Italian Crops

The watermelon had such a large impact on the Italian people when it was introduced, that the annual crops for Italian watermelon actually reaches into the 600,000 metric ton range. This can equate to approximately 1 million watermelons for the season, and this is a great crop to have.

This fruit is then usually first found at the markets around May, and can run to September. There are many different versions of this fruit, and some can even be cultivated and custom to meet requests these days.

The most popular of these great fruits is the Crimson Sweet, as this is large and bright red inside. This melon can weigh as much as 22 pounds, and has a tough rind so it makes this melon ideal to transport.

Other melons include the Sugar Baby, which is sweeter than the Crimson and roughly half of its size. This rind is a bit softer, yet it is more family friendly due to its size.

Picking Out The Right Melon

Watermelon should never be purchased by color or size alone, as there are many different variants of melon to choose from. You will want to ensure that the melon you are looking at is bright and firm to the touch, if it feels soft or mushy with a dull weight then this melon is more than likely past its prime.

A good watermelon should have a tight rap like a drum when you whack it with the straight of your hand; if it sounds dull it is not worth buying.

Read more Italian traditional food related articles here

Tweet

• herbs
• cook
• vegetables
• dessert
• italian traditional food
• recipes
• meat
• olive oil
• fish
• bread
• sauce
• italian
• traditional
• meal
• dish
• recipe
• pasta
• cheese
• food
• cooking

Copyright © 2009 - . All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Italian Traditional Food

You may not reprint articles from this website without the written permission of the site owner.

Disclaimer: Articles on this Website are provided for information purposes only. Italiantraditionalfood.com does not accept any responsibility or liability for the use or misuse of the article content on this site or reliance by any person on the site's contents.