Watermelon weather

Telluride Daily Planet, Friday, July 4, 2025

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” – Sam Keen

We didn’t eat that much watermelon, growing up. In the upper left corner of the U.S. map in the 60s and 70s, it just wasn’t as hot as it has been recently; one year, in fact, I remember it raining all but two weeks of summer vacation. We Washingtonians were berry and cherry people for the most part, and the queen of hot-weather fruits, dressed in pink and green and black dots, was generally considered a very special guest.

That being said, watermelon was something that showed up without fail, along with boxed firecrackers, on the Fourth of July. The brief flash of a visit left us with indelibly sweet bullseye memory darts of seed spitting contests, sticky juice and outside eating. For a few brief and blessed days, my mother would go off-piste and serve fruit salad in watermelon bowls and condiments in their ugly plastic containers.

Watermelon was a brief, bold bomb and a holiday explosion of goodness, a sure sign that summer had come into its own and a reminder that for any moment, hour or day, we could relish this feeling of celebration, staycation and good vibration.

Watermelon, right alongside my transistor radio, was the most sacred emoji — formerly known as a symbol — of summer. And PS, back in those days, we ate it in two and two ways only: in traditional wedges and in melon balls.

But here’s part of the glory and magnificence of this fruit (or vegetable, as they call it in Oklahoma, where it is, in fact, the state vegetable): The entire thing is edible and nutritious and extremely versatile, something we were not clued into way back when.

So, just in case you’re looking at the watermelon sitting there on your kitchen counter and can only think in terms of wedges and balls, think again.

The hottest trend in my feed (for what that’s worth) and in my neighborhood is watermelon, basil and feta salad, a refreshingly sweet and salty dish great for hot, low-electrolyte days. It can be customized with cucumbers, mint, red onion, or chili and lime (tajín) — and can be served in a bowl or on a skewer. Evidently, yellow mustard on watermelon is right up there in the latest and craziest, as well, but I have not gone there yet, myself.

Watermelon can be juiced, grilled, or made into gazpacho. It is being compressed, cooked, frozen in cubes for 15 minutes for an even fresher taste, and fermented (both rind and flesh). The rind, all but the thin waxy outer layer, can be pickled, shredded for slaw, candied, used in stir fries and smoothies, or made into a curry. It’s high in fiber, potassium and magnesium, L-citrulline (an amino acid) and great for hydration, just like the flesh.

Seeds can be roasted, eaten raw, ground for use in smoothies, even sprouted for use as any other sprout would be used. Or used as other seeds are used, in overnight oats and chia puddings, or as garnishes, or mixed with other seeds and nuts as trail mix. The seeds are high in protein, zinc and iron, and mono- and polyunsaturated fats, among other things. You can actually chew and eat the seeds as you go, without a watermelon plant sprouting in your stomach.

This fruit, in short, is yet another remarkable wonder of nature. If you are FODMAP sensitive (foods containing sugars or carbs called Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols) as I am, this fruit is to be eaten lightly, or you will feel intestinal discomfort when over-indulging. For those experiencing this and confused as to why, it might be helpful to research other high FODMAP foods.

The only other downside to the watermelon is overuse of its artificial flavoring. Sure, we had watermelon Jolly Ranchers from the penny candy store when I was a kid (the three original flavors from the 50s were watermelon, apple and fire) — but nothing like today’s three-ring circus found in bubble gum, bubbly water, candy, cocktails, kombucha, energy drinks, bubble tea, lotions, lip gloss, and all sorts of vaping flavors. Artificial flavors are essentially made of a variety of chemical compounds not considered healthful; so stick to the real deal when you can.

Watermelon raptures during these hot days serve a beautiful purpose — to reconnect us to good and sweet summer living and all the other watermelon-moments stacked up in our past. The adult equivalent for me in Colorado — the thing that makes me thrum inside each and every time I stop to witness it — is the aspen tree, the way it stands there thrilling in the breeze and quaking its thousands of leafy flags in a chorus of joy and ever-present now. I invite you to stop and experience this whenever possible — or to find your own watermelon emoji for just plain feeling good on an ongoing basis.