So, I’m shopping in Whole Foods with my friend, C, when I spot something unusual. Something I’ve never seen before. Yellow watermelon! We decided to split a package to try it. One package came with six, pre-cut, ready-to-eat triangles. Besides wondering if it would taste like red watermelon, I wondered: Is yellow watermelon natural?
Is Yellow Watermelon Natural?
There weren’t that many posts by more news-style sites talking about the nutritional benefits, etc. of yellow watermelon. Instead, I found many posts by seed companies that had some good information. I was surprised to learn that there are 1200 varieties of watermelon. Whoa! I totally thought there were two: with seeds and seedless. Lol! Now, you may be wondering the same thing I was – is yellow watermelon natural?
According to Gardening Know How, “The flesh of watermelons turning yellow is a natural mutation.”
The flesh of watermelons turning yellow is a natural mutation.
So, does that mean they’re not GMO?
According to this article on Organic Lifestyle Magazine, there are no known GMO watermelons in existence. Some watermelons are different due to cross breeding, but not genetic modification. Note: This article was published in 2014.
Oh, and there are a bunch of articles explaining that those square watermelons (which I’ve only seen photos of, not in person) are square because they’re grown in a box. So yea, those aren’t GMO either.
According to Albert’s Organics, the yellow watermelons are missing the lycopene of the red/pink watermelons, which accounts for the difference in color. PS: lycopene is actually an antioxidant.
What Does Yellow Watermelon Taste Like?
Almost all of the web sites I researched said that yellow watermelon has a honey-like taste and that it’s sweeter than red watermelon. But C and I agreed that the batch we had was average sweetness. I’d say I’ve had both less and more sweet red watermelon. But if you’ve eaten much of it, you’d know the sweetness can vary quite a bit depending on how ripe the watermelon was when you opened it. But, overall it tasted very much like good ole red watermelon.
How to Use Yellow Watermelon
Since the flavor is so similar to red watermelon, I think you can use yellow watermelon in any way you’d use the red variety. I’m thinking you could do some really cool things with these to play up the color: smoothie bowl toppings, bento boxes, etc. Not to mention the recipe options!
Watermelon Recipes
Here are some of my watermelon recipes (and I have a new one on the way!):
Watermelon Arugula Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
Fun with Healthy Eating
This post is a bit of an experiment. One of the things that has really helped me stay engaged with healthy eating is my curiosity. I love trying new and interesting foods! I think being curious about healthy ingredients, fruits, vegetables, new products, etc. is a fun way to explore healthy eating. Anywho, I thought it would be fun to pop in maybe once a week or so to talk about new things I’m trying out and loving. Let me know what you think and if you’ve seen any cool new foods I should try out!
Thanks for reading!