It’s December, almost officially winter, which means freezing temperatures where I’m from. It also means declining watermelon consumption nationwide. But why?
Does watermelon somehow taste better when it’s 85 degrees and sunny? Okay, maybe it does, but it’s still the best fruit out there, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days out of the year. We’ve talked about this before on What About Watermelon, but one of the reasons watermelon usage follows the temperature in the fall and winter is because it’s harder to find (or at least not in your face as soon as you walk in the grocery store). But the fact remains: IT’S STILL THERE. You just have to know where to look.
And you have to know how to use watermelon in the winter. Personally, I find myself eating it right off the rind in the summer – just grab a chunk and have at it – but my eating habits change during this time of the year. Don’t ask me why, they just do. In the winter, I cube most of my watermelon and store it in plastic containers in the fridge. I’m also more likely to experiment with watermelon as an ingredient in various recipes in the winter. (Try it. It’s a fun change of pace.)
Yes, how I eat my watermelon may change with the seasons, but my overall consumption of watermelon remains pretty much the same throughout the year… and no amount of snow or ice is going to change that!