WATERMELON MAGIC

Watermelon is the quintessential summer treat - sweet, succulent, and refreshing. During the scorching summer months, it quenches thirst, enlivens picnics and restaurant dishes, and cools us down as the heat wears on. The majestic oblong fruit with its green rind and bright red juicy flesh freckled with black seeds could be considered the king of fruits! Watermelon has been a part of our culinary story for many millennia with its history dating back to over 5,000 years ago!

It’s all about the water…

Watermelon, as we know it today, did not exist thousands of years ago. The ancestor of the modern watermelon (known as the ur-watermelon) was cultivated in Africa before being introduced to the Mediterranean, Europe and beyond.

It is believed that watermelons were first cultivated about 5,000 years ago for their water content, when it was discovered that they could be stored in shaded areas to provide hydration during dry seasons.

Paintings, dated as early as 3,0004,000 years ago, found in Egyptian tombs suggest that locals were farming these magnificent melons. The fruit portrayed in these paintings looked different than modern melons, indicating that they were likely bred over time to adjust their flavor, texture, and overall shape, while maintaining their high hydration capabilities.

Watermelon was first mentioned in ancient Greek texts around 4 BC, where the word ‘pepo’ is used to describe this waterfilled melon, with some evidence that they were roasted over fire or boiled.

In the ancient world, watermelons were used not only for hydration – they were also thought to be excellent diuretics and laxatives. The rinds were even prescribed to help ward off heatstroke in children by placing them on their foreheads.

Nowadays, watermelons are loved and consumed around the world. Today Greece is one the largest global producers and exporters of watermelons along with Spain, Mexico, Italy, Morocco, China, and the United States.

Healthy Melons

Watermelons didn’t start out sweet – they were actually bitter – but over time, and through selective breeding, they slowly became sweeter and redder, as the gene that determines sugar content is tied to the gene that codes for the color! Originally, they were a yellowish color, which can be found through specialty retailers even today.

Whether sweet or bitter, watermelons (and melons in general) are known for their incredible water content – approximately 92%, which makes them an amazing source for natural hydration!

Watermelons are also a great source of vitamins A and C, as well as dietary fiber and some key antioxidants, including lycopene, which is known to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. It’s also good for heart health and may help in the prevention of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration.

Chef Maria Loi is an entrepreneur, Greek food ambassador and healthy lifestyle guru. The author of more than 36 cookbooks, she is also the host of The Life of Loi, which premiered on PBS and PBS Passport in December 2022, now available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. The Life of Loi aims to build an inspirational, educational movement around the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. Her Loi Food Products, a specialty brand built on traditional ingredients from Greece, includes pastas, beans, botanical herbs, refrigerated dips, honey, holiday cookies, and olive oil sold on QVC, at Whole Foods Markets, and in other stores. The namesake of Loi Estiatorio in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, she also has the Loi Specialty Shop at The Plaza Hotel. Connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on Instagram and Facebook, and learn more about her food philosophy at loiestiatorio.com/chef-loi/.

Other benefits from watermelon include support for skin and hair health, as well as relief from muscle soreness, and can even help improve digestion.

Of course, before adding anything to your diet, always ask your doctor.

Karpouzi for me, Karpouzi for you

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do with my father in the summer was to travel to a town called Lesini, near the seaside in Messolonghi, which was about 90 minutes from our home in Thermo.

We would go in August, which also happens to be my birthday month, and gather all the water- continued on page 86 from page 84 melons (karpouzia in Greek) for our whole village – as many as we could fit in his truck. It was a special time for the two of us as we drove there, and when we arrived, I would run through the fields, weaving in between the melons like I was playing a game.

Before loading the truck, my fa - ther would knock on every melon, which I found interesting, but continued to play while he knocked and loaded or set aside each melon. After loading the truck, before leaving the field, my father would pull out his pocketknife, taking a watermelon and cutting all the way to ‘the heart’ of it, pulling out a perfect tri - angle. I asked him why he knocked on all the melons, and how he knew which melon to choose, and he told me that you had to knock on the watermelon, like you knock on a door –if it sounds hollow, then it was ready to eat and would be very sweet!

My mother, on the other hand, didn’t quite appreciate my love of watermelon, because she would dress me in white during the summer to abate the heat. My clothes never stayed white because I was like a little piglet in August, and would ravage all the watermelon I could find, staining my clothes pink! To be fair, my father called me his ‘gourounaki’ (little piggy), and said that because August was my birthday month, I could do whatever I wanted – and what I wanted was to eat all the watermelon!

My grandmother didn’t mind my watermelon obsession, because she would use the rinds to create her incredible glyka koutaliou (spoon desserts), which never lasted past September.

Watermelon for Everyone

Watermelons are very versatile when it comes to culinary applications, being used in both savory and continued on page 132