August 3: National Watermelon Day

Did you know that watermelon comes in many different colors?  Right now, my local farmers market is teeming with watermelon with red, orange, yellow and pink flesh.  While the outer rind is almost always green, it can come in other colors and plenty of variations.  According to Wikipedia, there are over 1200 varieties of watermelon.  You can see 104 of them here.

If you're interested in facts about watermelon production in the US or the world, check out all this watermelon information from the Economic Research Service of the USDA.  There is a lot of information there, so here are some highlights:

• In 2010, the top 5 watermelon-growing states in order were: Florida, Georgia, California, Texas and Indiana.
• Over 68 million metric tons of watermelon were grown in the world in 2009.
• China produces most of the world's watermelons - 3.8 million metric tons.  The US is fourth, after Turkey and Iran.

Watermelon.org has some beautiful ideas for carving watermelon into bowls.  Always remember to wash your watermelon before you cut it.