Summertime cravings include ice cream (or soy cream), smoothies, iced sun tea, lemonade, barbecue meals, cold crunchy salads and crisp, cold sweet watermelon. However, as good as watermelon can taste at its best, there are a few tips and thoughts to remember if it is a watermelon craving you are trying to satisfy. I'll even include one recipe for Minted Lime Watermelon juice, that may sound appealing, but turned out to be not so pretty in watermelon pink...
Watermelon: The Good.
There are many reasons to love this striped, green-rinded summer melon. It is low in calories and incredibly hydrating.
One cup of watermelon contains only 46 calories and about 20% RDA of vitamins A and C.
One cup also contains 5% RDA of potassium. Watermelon is sweet, yet mild. Hydrating, yet big on chew appeal. Seedless watermelon is available and you can even find mini watermelons in an easy-to-carry round shape and smaller size.
And really, watermelon is awesome because you can just dive into it and eat as much as you really want and not feel stuffed. Perfect on a hot summer day when you are thirsty, yet don't want to just chug some water. Dive into watermelon instead!
Recipe Ideas. Watermelon tastes great plain, or chopped up in a summertime fruit salad. I love it frozen and then added to smoothie. My favorite is probably my watermelon frosty.
Frozen watermelon..
Frosty..
You could even add a pinch of coconut sugar, salt and squeeze of lime, pinch of cayenne and you have a complex flavored snack or treat.
Tips: When choosing a melon, knock on the rind with your fist. A hollow sounding knock means the inside is nice and firm-good sign. Never buy a watermelon with a soft rind or too-yellow color.
Watermelon: The Bad.
There are a few not-so great things about watermelon. First, seeds can be a pain. While seedless is available, sometimes the seedless varieties have less color and flavor. Secondly, watermelons can be huge! And heavy. And transporting the melon can be another pain. And lastly, flavor can be an issue. It is hard to tell if your melon will be perfectly crisp, bright red and sweet or bland, white and grainy.
Now for the Ugly...
Watermelon: The Ugly.
Watermelon in itself is beautiful. So, I decided to try juicing a watermelon with some lime juice and fresh mint. Sounds refreshing and delicious right??? Well my good intentioned recipe didn't turn out to be as pretty in pink as I had expected. In fact, the juice came out brown! I guess mixing pink and green isn't the best idea, but even the juiced water melon wasn't as bright pink as I expected. Here's the recipe...although I don't really recommend it for its looks...
Not-so-Pretty-in-Pink
Minted Lime Watermelon Juice
half a mini watermelon, chopped
1 lime
handful fresh mint
Juice ingredients and pour. It's OK, in my opinion. But the ugly color really kills it. I'm sticking to fresh melon...not juiced.
Good luck!
Here is the not-so-pretty in pink juice...
GotHisBack says
Two things: One- look at a color wheel. Mix red and green get brown. It's one of those laws of nature-stuff moving to an area less dense in similar cells. Two, how come so much watermelon is sour this year? Usually I have great fruit all summer. This year only ONE of the melons I've purchased was worth eating. Even in Phoenix, it's usually way better than this.
Lauren says
You need a 'good' story that includes watermelon juice. I juice my watermelons to make watermelon sangria. just mix the juice with Reisling wine and lemon juice (plus some vodka if you want it to have an extra kick!). definitely comes out still pink and tasty...and deadly.
Kathy says
Caroline,
Yup, trying new things in the kitchen is the only way to discover winners...and sometimes losers...
Kathy
Fred says
Maybe you didn't remove the black seeds prior to juicing it? I'm kidding 🙂
Watermelon juice is definitely pink so you'll have to try again to update your post and remove the ugly section 🙂 This poor fruit does not deserve it. Watermelon is such a great fruit.
But I think watermelon is best enjoyed as a whole. The texture is awesome and it's easier and quicker to eat like that than to juice it (think about washing the damn dishes!).
Why trying to turn every and any fruit and veggie into juice anyway?? Richness of nature resides in its diversity and I like to enjoy such diversity of texture right into my mouth! 🙂
Kathy says
I know it was super weird...I've had watermelon juice before that was actually really yummy and pink. I think it was the big handful of mint. Pink and green do make brown. The lime didn't help either!
I'm going to do a second attempt next time I buy a ripe red watermelon-but no green this time!
Thanks for the input guys!
Kathy
Claire says
That's really odd. I've juiced watermelon before and had a neon-pink drink. I guess it was the lime you added, but I doubt it.
Really weird. I'd try again, because watermelon juice/nectar is SO good.
Erika says
I make watermelon juice all the time and have never had this problem. Instead of juicing it with a juicer, though, I just throw the fruit in a blender with some lime juice. The juice has some pulp this way, but at least you're getting the benefit of all the fiber! And the color is definitely PINK.
anna says
My favorite way to enjoy watermelon besides eating it is blended with water and ice, Costa Rican style. You could probably add some mint, too, but I would guess the lime is responsible for the color change. Maybe some zest?
Caroline says
Yuck. That juice IS gross looking! Won't try that. I guess sticking to fresh chopped watermelon is the way to go. Thanks for sharing though! Not every recipe can go perfectly, eh?
Devin says
That's too bad about the juice. Maybe don't use the lime next time. And mint. Maybe try some beets to brighten the color. But I don't know how that would taste.