Watermelon festivals are a pretty common occurrence here in the United States (mainly in the South) and most share similar features, like watermelon eating contests, seed spitting contests and the crowning of a watermelon queen. Pretty typical stuff, but that’s not the case at watermelon festivals outside the U.S.

I stumbled onto an article yesterday about a watermelon festival in Hungary in which they crown a “Watermelon Knight” instead of a queen. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

A father and son were crowned kings of the watermelon at a festival dedicated to the fruit in a small Hungarian town on Sunday.  The highlight of the event is a competition to crown the ‘Watermelon Knight”, in which contestants compete at eating, juggling, packing and guessing the weight of watermelons. This year’s winner was Jozsef Kraller, whose son also won the junior contest.

The more I think about it, the more I think a “Watermelon Knight” might be a good idea for American watermelon festivals. Knights are pretty cool, what with the armor and helmet and joust. I don’t know if the Hungarian Watermelon Knight got to wear suit of armor, but the title is still worth the effort.  

Actually, something I missed when I first read that article just occurred to me. The excerpt above mentions that prospective knights competed at “eating, juggling, packing and guessing the weight of watermelons.” I have no idea what “packing” is, at least in the contest of watermelons. Did they have to pack them in a bin? Perhaps some sort of test of speed and strength? I don’t know. Whatever it is, I’d do it for a chance to be a watermelon knight.

Whoever made this rug could have created it with a red center and a green and white border and called it a “watermelon rug” and been done with it. But they didn’t stop there. They took the watermelon theme one step further by adding seeds to the design. Attention to detail – that’s why I chose it as this month’s prize.

What I like most about this rug is that it’s very clearly a watermelon-themed rug, but not in an in-your-face “hey check out my watermelon rug” kind of way. Know what I mean? I’ll give this tasteful addition to your kitchen away to one commenter chosen at random from all the comments left here on What About Watermelon this month. Good luck!

I came across this video the other day of a man peeling a watermelon in record time. If I tried this, I’d be penalized for chopping off a finger or two, but this guy has no trouble getting the rind off this watermelon while keeping his digits intact.

I actually do like to think that I can make quick work of a watermelon. Just last night, I cubed half of a large watermelon in about four minutes (I know this because I was trying to figure out what to do in the kitchen while the baked potato finished “baking” in the microwave). I didn’t use the rind-removal method this guy employed, but it worked for me and that’s all that matters.

UP NEXT: Melonade!

JOHN K. OF NEW BLOOMFIELD, PA, ASKS: What’s the best kind of watermelon?

Great question, John. Your inquiry may be only six words, but it couldn’t be more difficult to answer.

Within the main categories of seedless, picnic (seeded), ice box and yellow flesh watermelons are hundred of different types, many of which are very closely related because they are literally closely related. What I mean by that is that many watermelon are crossbred to produce a product that has the best attributes of both contributing varieties.

Below is a chart from the National Watermelon Promotion Board website that outlines just a few of the more than 200 varieties of watermelon grown here in the United States.

While this chart doesn’t tell you which types are better, I can tell you that one of the most popular varieties of watermelon is the Crimson Sweet, which is prized for its deep, red, very sweet flesh. It’s also popular among growers of all experience levels because it’s a hearty, relatively easy watermelon to grow.

Although the exact variety of watermelon you might buy in the grocery store is often unknown (if it’s a seedless, it could be one of several varieties), it’s a pretty safe bet that the best type of watermelon is the kind that’s sitting right in front of you and ready to be eaten. I know that’s an easy way to answer your question, but it’s true, right? For a more detailed look at 18 popular types of watermelon, check out this handy slide show on the Saveur website. It might not answer your question, but it’ll definitely make you very hungry.

UP NEXT: The fastest watermelon peeler in all the land

I’ll be the first to admit that I watch a lot of TV. Probably too much. But in my defense, a lot of the TV I watch is educational in nature. Specifically, I watch a lot of stuff on the Food Network and, even more specifically, I watch almost every episode of Unwrapped (even the really old ones that I’ve already seen eight times).

That’s why I was happy to discover, almost by accident, that What About Watermelon’s own watermelon expert, Chef Harry Schwartz, will be starring in an episode of Unwrapped that focuses on fruit. The episode will air on the Food Network on Tuesday, August 24 at 11:30 p.m. and again four hours later (for you night owls) on Wednesday, August 25 3:30 p.m.

Of course, Chef Harry will be talking about “all things watermelon,” according to the episode description. I should note that this particular episode of Unwrapped isn’t new – it originally aired in 2008 – but thanks to the miracle of repeats, Chef Harry and his encyclopedic knowledge of watermelon will live on forever!

I was in the grocery store the other day, motoring past the bakery section (I’ve found the faster I move past the bakery section, the less liable bakery items are to wind up in my cart), when I was stopped dead in my tracks by the beautiful red, white and green creation pictured above.

Somehow I was able to resist adding it to my purchases, mainly because I already had two containers of ice cream I hadn’t planned on buying. It wasn’t until just now that I noticed the “chocolate” sticker on top of the container. It would have been extra cool if they had made it with vanilla cake with red food coloring added to bump up the watermelon factor another notch. If they do that, I’m sure to buy one… and some ice cream.

UP NEXT: A tough question

August 31 marks the deadline for the first National Watermelon Carving Contest and I wanted to send out one last reminder to send those entries in!

To recap, I’m looking for your best looking watermelon basket. Nothing fancy, just whatever you come up with. Send me a photo of your finished carving AND a photo of you with the carving to watermelonexperts@gmail.com. I haven’t received a TON of entries yet, which means the chance of your entry being named one of the four finalists and winning the grand prize is pretty good. (Seriously.)

What’s the grand prize, you ask? It’s the “Ultimate Watermelon Carving Kit”! Check it out here and feel free to check out more complete contest rules here. Good luck!

UP NEXT: Spotted in the grocery store

It’s hot out there, people, which is why both recipes featured here on What About Watermelon this month will be ice cold and refreshing. Let me repeat – ice cold and refreshing. As if watermelon isn’t refreshing enough, right?

WATERMELON ICE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups pureed watermelon
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

In blender, process chunks of seeded watermelon until liquefied. In large shallow pan, stir all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved; place pan in freezer. Stir watermelon mixture every 20 minutes until frozen, about 2 hours. Cover; store in freezer. To serve, break mixture up with fork.

UP NEXT: Last call for watermelon carvings!

August is upon us, and if there’s one month that I think of when I think of summer, it’s August. Granted, July is also a summer month, but August, for some reason, means “summer” to me. It’s the same thing with October (fall), December (winter) and April (spring).

A big thanks to Peircy27 over on Flickr for creating the carvings above and letting me use her photo here on What About Watermelon.

UP NEXT: A very cool recipe

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I was lucky (?) enough to witness and participate in all sorts of strange games and contests. One contest that I remember vividly was the annual greased pig catching contest at our local town fair each summer. The premise is simple: The first person to catch a thoroughly greased oinker (they’re hard enough to catch when they’re “clean”), gets to keep the pig. I never won the contest, and now that I think about it, I’m not really sure what I would have done with the pig if I did.

Which leads me to today’s entry. A friend of mine who, I think, loves watermelon almost as much as I do but isn’t ready to admit it, sent me a link to instructions for playing a summertime game called “greased watermelon polo.” The name alone was enough to pique my curiosity and convince me, even before I read the rules of the game, that I’d have to stage a greased watermelon polo tournament at my house by summer’s end.

Here’s how the game works:

Two teams enter a swimming pool. A referee drops a watermelon covered in vegetable oil or petroleum jelly into the center of the pool. The teams then kick, push or swim with the watermelon in an effort to get the watermelon to the opposing team’s side of the pool while the opposing team tries to do the same. Sort of like soccer, only in a pool… with a really slippery watermelon.

More detailed rules can be found here, but I’m thinking once that watermelon hits the water, all rational thought and pool etiquette go right out the window and mayhem sets in pretty quickly. Sounds like my kind of game. All I need now is a nice-sized backyard pool!

Below is a video of greased watermelon polo in action. It should be noted that the players in this video are violating a very important rule of the sport by lifting the watermelon out of the water and throwing it. My old age (mid-30s, thank you) is showing when I say this, but throwing a watermelon into a swarm of people seems pretty dangerous. That’s a definite technical foul for the polo player in the gray swim trunks.