A reader recently wrote to the What About Watermelon experts with the following dilemma:
I live in Iowa and LOVE watermelon. I have a sugar addiction and this summer I ate about 1/4 watermelon a day and lost 20 pounds. (And I didn’t have much to lose cause I’m a daily runner and biker.) I have found it to be THE best substitute for the processed sugar I crave. The problem is I can’t get it for most of the year, and what tiny ones the grocery stores do have cost a fortune. Though I eat other fruit as well, nothing helps me stay off the junk sugar like watermelon, and I would like to find a way to get it (economically) all year long. Any suggestions?
– Roger
It’s a great question, and an issue many watermelon lovers face every year. After all, even though watermelon is available in most places year round, the prices can fluctuate a bit in the “off-season.” If more stores were to stock watermelon during the winter months, the price would come down, but until more stores add watermelon to their winter produce selection, we’ll have to cope with the variable prices that affect nearly all fruits and vegetables.
My personal advice to Roger was to continue purchasing watermelon but to find ways to stretch his watermelon (and his dollar) by incorporating the watermelon into various recipes.
Roger’s question also inspired this month’s poll question. In most areas of the United States, we pay anywhere from 30 cents per pound (on sale) to 60 or 70 cents per pound for watermelon during the peak summer months. But how much would you be willing to pay in the winter – or if watermelon suddenly became a scarce commodity – to satisfy your watermelon cravings?