Watermelon: Seedless or Seedy?
“Is this guy and his ‘Sledge-O-Matic’ the reason I can’t find anything but a seedless watermelon in this town?”
By Brooke A. Brown
When it’s unbearably hot like it has been these last couple of days, there’s nearly nothing more cooling and refreshing than a fresh-from-the-ice-box serving of red, ripe watermelon (enjoyed in the equally cool comfort of central air-conditioning, of course). I’m on my second melon of the summer hot season and, thus far, both varieties have been the seedless kind.
I’ve been pleased with each of them as they both have been juicy, sweet and firm. (Although any true watermelon fan holds on to the hope that the next bite will be sweetest one of all.) Anyway, while forking my way through a Lock & Lock container of my most recently sliced and diced melon, I wondered: Whatever happened to non-seedless watermelons? And then I continued wondering: Did they taste better than seedless watermelons? My train of thought was interrupted when I suddenly dropped a piece of melon on my white T-shirt, forever categorizing it as an ‘around-the-house’ shirt.
But my questions remain. Might any of you watermelon lovers out there ’spit a seed’ in the direction of the comments section and enlighten me on these pressing issues? Can a person still buy a fully seeded melon? (Granted, I haven’t really put a lot of effort into finding one, but that’s beside the point.) Do they, in fact, taste better than the ones lacking seeds? And last but not least, does anyone know if OxiClean works on watermelon stains? (I don’t trust that Billy Mays guy for nothing!)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out Bob Schwarz’ recent watermelon primer in the Charleston Gazette, too.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:03 am
my question is now that we’ve rid the watermellon of the dreaded black seeds, what about the little white ones ? I hate eating them.
I think the black were easier to remove than these tiny, pesky white guys.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Drew - To be sure, there are still seeds in a seedless watermelon. Those white seeds are not appetizing in appearance, but at least they won’t chip a tooth or rip a crown off a molar like those old-school seeds.
July 29th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I hear oxy clean is a great product, but don’t use it in your machine. Whirlpool says it eats away at the interior… YIKES!
July 31st, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Thanks, Candace. And thanks for nothing, Billy Mays!
July 31st, 2008 at 5:16 pm
When we were at WVU, I used to borrow a syringe from the med students downstairs and inject a watermelon with vodke. We’d let it fester in the fridge a while, then all of us would sit on the roof and eat, spitting black seeds three stories down to the back yard. Later, little melons would sprout. Do they still do that in Sunnyside?