Watermelon season has hit Nanjing; there is no better time to enjoy the thirst-quenching fruit, while we in Jiangsu Province are blessed to have some of the best watermelons on the market. Choosing one isn’t hard, but there are potential pitfalls.
The “Su Mi” (苏蜜) series of watermelons is cultivated annually by the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences and this year, Jiangsu Province’s “Good Watermelon” and “Good Variety” awards were won by the variety, Su Mi 518.
By way of celebration, on 7 June, the Vegetable Institute of Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Secretariat of Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences jointly organised the “Su Mi 518 Citizen Tasting Event”, inviting 50 local families to Hengxi Town in Nanjing’s Jiangning District, to be among the first to taste the award-winning crops.
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Xu Jinhua is Director of the Melon Crops’ Research Office in the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences‘ Vegetable Research Institute. He said that watermelons of 12 to 13 Brix are the most refreshing and have a good flavour. Oversweet watermelons, on the other hand, have a greasy texture when eaten, and they do not quench thirst.
For the less science minded, Degrees Brix, or Total Soluble Solids, is the measurement of sugars in a piece of fruit.
With the public seeking as much refreshment as possible, so suspicions have arisen over the possible practice of injecting melons with sugar.
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Xu revealed that such “watermelon injection” is nothing more than Xu revealed that such “watermelon injection” is nothing more than pointless rumour. Injecting hormones, sugar water or pigments will not make a watermelon red and sweet. On the contrary, the injection will cause the melon flesh around the needle to rot and deteriorate, greatly shortening shelf life, writes Yu Dandan for the Yangtze Evening News.
When buying your watermelon, choose one that’s almost perfectly round, with tendrils that have dried to a certain degree. Best if it still has its stalk; a bent one is a sign of a riper watermelon; straight and thick means the flesh is hard. Finally, you can lift the watermelon to your ear and give it a good knock with your knuckles on the other side. If the watermelon has sufficient water content, you’ll hear something similar to a stone being dropped in a well. It’s this echoey sound which tells you the watermelon is juicy.
Watermelons are grown all over the world in tropical to temperate regions, but China remains the biggest cultivator. According to data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, China produced 64,024,614 tonnes of watermelons in 2018, approximately two thirds of the world’s total crop.
