Watermelon belongs to Cucurbitaceae and is native to Africa. Watermelon is a dicotyledonous flowering plant, which is shaped like a vine and has feathery leaves. The fruit it bears is Zanthoxylum bungeanum, a kind of fleshy fruit peculiar to cucurbitaceae, which is a false fruit developed from three lower ovaries with carpels and placentas. The main edible part of watermelon is the developed placenta. The skin of the fruit is smooth, green or yellow with patterns, and the pulp is juicy and red or yellow (rare white).

Basic information

Introduction

Watermelon is an annual vine herb. Melon pulp is crisp and tender, sweet and juicy, rich in mineral salts and vitamins, and it is the main summer fruit. Watermelon can clear away heat and relieve summer-heat, and it has an auxiliary effect on treating nephritis, diabetes and cystitis. Peel can be cold-mixed, pickled, candied, jam and feed. The oil content of seeds is up to 5%, which can be used for pressing oil, frying food or making pastry ingredients.

Watermelon is cultivated in the north and south of China. Melons are round or oval, and the skin color is thick green, green, white or green with snake patterns. The pulp is juicy and sweet, and it is thick red, light red, yellow or white.

Watermelon is called "the king of melons". It tastes sweet and juicy, refreshing and quenches thirst. It is a good fruit in midsummer. Watermelon contains a lot of substances such as glucose, malic acid, fructose, protein amino acids, lycopene and vitamin C besides fat and cholesterol. It is a nutritious, pure and safe food.

varieties

watermelons can be divided into three categories according to their different uses: ordinary watermelons, melon seeds and small watermelons.

uses

watermelon fruit is the main fruit in summer. Mature fruit contains a lot of water, and the sugar content of pulp is generally 5 ~ 12%, including glucose, fructose and sucrose. Sweetness increased with the increase of sucrose in the late ripening stage. Without starch, the sweetness will be reduced due to the hydrolysis of disaccharide to monosaccharide during storage. Melon seeds can be used as tea food, and melon skin can be processed into watermelon sauce. In traditional Chinese medicine, melon juice and peel are used as medicine to clear away summer heat.

Watermelon-also called water melon, cold melon and summer melon. Because it was introduced from the western regions in the Han Dynasty, it was called "watermelon". Watermelon tastes sweet and juicy, refreshing and thirst-quenching. It is a good fruit in midsummer. It can not only dispel summer heat and polydipsia, but also has a good diuretic effect, so it is called "natural white tiger soup". Watermelon contains almost all kinds of nutrients needed by human body except fat and cholesterol. It is a nutritious, pure and safe food.

Suitable for people

The general population can eat it, and it is suitable for patients with hypertension, acute and chronic nephritis, cholecystitis and persistent high fever.

Not suitable for people

The following people are not suitable for eating:

First, the maternal body is weak, but from the perspective of Chinese medicine, watermelon is cold, so eating too much will lead to excessive cold and damage the spleen and stomach.

Second, patients with renal insufficiency

If patients with renal function problems eat too much watermelon, they will consume too much water and can't discharge it in time, which will cause excessive water storage in the body, increase blood volume and easily induce acute heart failure.

3. Diabetes patients

Eating watermelon will lead to an increase in blood sugar. If the illness is serious, it may even cause acidosis due to metabolic disorder, which is life-threatening.

Fourth, patients with oral ulcer

Oral ulcer is considered to be caused by internal heat due to yin deficiency and disturbance of deficiency fire in traditional Chinese medicine. Eating watermelon causes the water needed for the recovery of oral ulcer to be discharged too much, which aggravates yin deficiency and internal heat, and leads to the prolonged healing time of patients.

the source of the name

China is the largest watermelon producing area in the world, but there are different opinions about the origin of watermelon.

It is said that watermelon was discovered in Shennong when it tasted a hundred herbs. Its original name was sparse melon, which means a melon with plenty of water and thin meat, but it became watermelon after being passed on.

another way of saying it is that it did not originate in China, but spread in the western regions, hence the name watermelon.

As early as 4, years ago, Egyptians planted watermelons, and then gradually moved northward, first from the Mediterranean coast to northern Europe, and then southward to the Middle East, India and other places. In the 4th and 5th centuries, watermelons were introduced to China from the western regions, so they were called "watermelons".

According to Xu Guangqi, a scientist in the Ming Dynasty, it is recorded in "The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration": "Watermelon is named because it was planted in the Western Regions." Ming Li Shizhen recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: "According to Hu Hu, a kind of melon was obtained in Uighur, which was called watermelon. Watermelon began to enter China in the Five Dynasties; There are both north and south today. " This shows that watermelon cultivation in China has a long history.

Main producing areas

At present, the watermelon producing areas in China are divided into two parts: Yingshang Laoshuwa watermelon is the most famous, and Hainan Island is the main producing area in the south, which is rich in watermelon all year round according to its unique climate; Shandong is the main watermelon producing area in the north, mainly concentrated in Liaocheng, Weifang, Changle, Dezhou and other places in the northwest of Shandong. Among them, the early-maturing varieties produced around May 1 ST are especially famous in Yaogou Town, Changle County, and have the reputation of' the first watermelon town in China'. In 2, the market share in Beijing alone accounted for more than 8%. The earliest large-scale watermelon planting in East China is Hongze Watermelon Breeding Farm in Gudi, Weifang. The Guo brand Kirin watermelon cultivated by it is second to none in China and sells well in Hangzhou, Shanghai and other cities. Hebei, Northwest China and Lanzhou, Gansu are also the main watermelon producing areas.

Common classification

According to varieties

Black beauty: oval, small melon with pure black skin.

seedless watermelon: round, with no seeds in the pulp.

Watermelon with flower skin: oval, large, with light green and dark green skin.

Texiaofeng: round, with melon skin stripes and yellow flesh.

honey treasure: round, with dark green skin, waxy powder on the surface when ripe, red flesh, crisp, sweet and juicy meat.

lebao: round, dark green peel, red pulp, dense and crisp.

By brand

Watermelon in the Capital of Song Dynasty: Watermelon in the Capital of Song Dynasty is a traditional specialty of Kaifeng, which is well-known in ancient and modern times and sells well at home and abroad. Its characteristics are: thin skin and more juice, crisp and sweet ladle sand, clear and delicious. There is a folk proverb "Pomegranate dangshan pear in Xiaoxian County, Watermelon in the Capital of Song Dynasty is red to the skin". Because Kaifeng was called "Bianliang" in ancient times, watermelons produced in Kaifeng area are all called "Bianliang Watermelons".

Guopai Watermelon: Guopai Watermelon has been planted for more than 2 years, and it is the earliest large-scale watermelon grower in East China. The brand was founded in 1993. Yulin Watermelon is one of the four business cards of agricultural products in Wenling City, and its main producing area is Ruoheng Town, Wenling City. In 21, it was rated as a famous brand product in Zhejiang Province, in 23, the trademark Yulin was rated as a famous trademark in Zhejiang Province, and in 24, it was also rated as the "Top Ten Most Popular Brand Agricultural Products" in the province.

Watermelon for Saving Agriculture: In Fugou, Henan Province, watermelon varieties were bred and developed by farmers' seedlings for saving agriculture. After several decades' efforts, several excellent watermelon varieties such as Kaibian and Tianxian Xuelian were successively developed, which were quickly recognized by the market and praised by farmers' friends. In the case of serious natural disasters in 2 and 21, several varieties of the company stood the test and performed well, creating considerable economic benefits for melon farmers.

yellow flesh melon

yellow flesh watermelon is called Xinjinlan, which is a rare watermelon variety introduced from Taiwan Province. Melon is small, the maximum is only 3 kg, the sugar content is high and uniform, and it melts in the mouth. This variety has not been planted in other parts of Henan. This kind of yellow watermelon only takes 33 days from fruit setting to maturity, and it can be harvested twice a year with an yield of 3 kg per mu.

Nutritional value

1. Watermelon can clear away heat and relieve summer heat, and quench thirst: Watermelon contains a lot of water. When you have a fever, thirst, sweating and irritability due to acute fever, eating a piece of sweet, sandy and full of water will immediately improve your symptoms.

2. The sugar and salt contained in watermelon can induce diuresis and eliminate kidney inflammation, and protease can transform insoluble protein into soluble protein, thus increasing the nutrition of patients with nephritis.

3. Watermelon also contains substances that can lower blood pressure.

4. After eating watermelon, the urine volume will increase obviously, which can reduce the content of bile pigment and make the stool unobstructed, which has a certain effect on treating jaundice.

5. Fresh watermelon juice and tender watermelon skin increase skin elasticity, make people younger, reduce wrinkles and add luster.

watermelon (AVG) List of nutritional ingredients

ingredient name content ingredient name content ingredient name content

Edible part 56 Moisture (grams) 93.3 Energy (kilocalories) 25

Energy (kilojoules) 15 protein (grams) .6 Fat (grams) .1

Carbohydrate (grams) 5. .8 dietary fiber (g) .3 cholesterol (mg)

ash (g) .2 vitamin a (mg) 75 carotene (mg) 45

retinol (mg) thiamine (mg) .2 riboflavin (mg) .3

niacin (mg). 2 vitamin c (mg) 6 vitamin E(T) (mg) .1

a-E .6 (β-γ) -E .1 δ-E .3

calcium (mg) 8 phosphorus (mg) 9 potassium (mg) 87

sodium (mg) 3.2 magnesium (mg) 8 iron (mg) .3

zinc (mg) .1 selenium (mg) .17 copper (mg). 5

manganese (mg) .5 iodine (mg)

component name

component name

content

component name

content

edible part

56

moisture (g)

93.3 < .1

carbohydrate (g)

5.8

dietary fiber (g)

.3

cholesterol (mg)

ash (g)

.2

vitamin a (mg)

75

carotene. .2

vitamin c (mg)

vitamin E(T) (mg)

.1

a-E

.6

(β-γ). -E

.1

δ-E

.3

calcium (mg)

phosphorus (mg)

potassium (mg)

87

sodium (mg)

3.2

magnesium (mg). Has the effects of clearing away heat, relieving summer-heat, promoting salivation, quenching thirst, and promoting diuresis. Indications: qi stagnation in chest and diaphragm, fullness and discomfort, dysuria, sores on mouth and nose, summer heat, heatstroke, hangover and other symptoms.

Watermelon seeds have the effects of clearing away lung heat and moistening lung, regulating middle energizer, quenching thirst, helping digestion, and treating hematemesis and chronic cough. Seed shell is used to treat blood and dysentery due to intestinal wind.

It is recorded in Ben Jing Feng Yuan that watermelon can induce the heat of pericardium and diarrhea from small intestine and bladder. It is known as "White Tiger Decoction" because it can relieve the sun, Yangming's stagnation and fever and thirst. White Tiger Decoction is a prescription for treating febrile diseases in Han Dynasty, which has the functions of clearing away heat and promoting fluid production, quenching thirst and relieving annoyance, which means watermelon peel has the same function as it. In spring and summer, the air is hot and hot, and it is found by collectors every other year, such as Tang Woxue.

There are abundant materials about watermelon used in folk medicine and dietotherapy in ancient and modern times. For example:

1. The Story of the Songmo says: Some people suffer from eye diseases, so they expose watermelon slices to dry, take them every day, and then recover, so they are cold and reduce fire.

2. "Eating with Interest" says that people who eat melons and have abdominal distension will disappear immediately after drinking pickled vegetables in winter. Dry-pickled eye sores with watermelon meat; Burn the sore in the lip with watermelon skin.

3. For diabetes and turbid urine, take 16 grams of watermelon rind and winter melon rind and 12 grams of trichosanthin with water.

4. Thirteen grams of dried watermelon and ten grams of cassia seed are used for hypertension, and water decoction is used instead of tea.

Watermelon Beauty

Eating watermelon is different from drinking water or beverages. It not only supplements water to human body, but also contains many important chemical components beneficial to health and beauty. When eating watermelon, wipe your face with watermelon juice, or cut off the green skin outside the watermelon and apply it with the white skin inside for 15 minutes, so that your skin can be kept fresh, delicate, white, healthy and radiant with charming luster all summer. The secret weapon to build beautiful legs Because watermelon has diuretic effect, coupled with high water content, the amount of urination will increase after eating watermelon, thus reducing the content of bile pigment and making the stool smooth, which has a certain effect on treating jaundice. In addition, the diuretic effect of watermelon can also make salt excrete and reduce edema, especially leg edema. For women whose legs are numb and swollen due to sitting in front of the computer for a long time, watermelon is a natural leg-beautifying fruit. Watermelon is rich in potassium, which can quickly replenish potassium that is easily lost with sweat in summer, avoid muscle weakness and fatigue caused by it, and drive away burnout. Potassium is also one of the essential elements for beautiful legs. Don't underestimate the role of watermelon in modifying leg lines. Eating watermelon and drinking watermelon juice often will make you pleasantly surprised to get a beautiful leg shape while enjoying the cool taste. Fresh lotion Fresh watermelon juice and fresh melon skin can increase skin elasticity, reduce wrinkles and add luster. Crushing watermelon meat in a bowl, and then carefully filtering out the juice is the best and most natural skin toner. Use it as lotion before makeup every morning and evening, which is fresh and not irritating. Persistence can make your face better and your makeup lasting and bright. The leftover watermelon juice can be stored in the refrigerator and will not go bad within three days. This lotion is natural and pure, and it is very suitable for people with sensitive skin. In addition, eating watermelon often can make your hair beautiful and dense, and people with dry hair due to perm may wish to eat more. Watermelon detoxification beauty has a miraculous effect, but after all, it is a fruit with high sugar content and is easy to be converted into fat. But you can eat less of the sugary part of watermelon, and choose red and white watermelon skin to eat. In summer, you can even cook with watermelon skin, such as cold watermelon skin: not only refreshing, but also beautiful and lose weight.

the value of watermelon skin

Chinese medicine calls watermelon skin "watermelon cuiyi", which has the functions of clearing away heat and relieving summer-heat, purging fire and relieving vexation, lowering blood pressure, etc., and has a certain curative effect on anemia, dry throat, cleft lip, cystitis, hepatic ascites and nephritis. In addition, because watermelon skin is rich in vitamins C and E, it can be used to rub the skin, or it can be mashed into a mud paddle and coated on the skin. After being treated for 1-15 minutes, it can be washed with water, which has the functions of nourishing, rejuvenating and beautifying the skin and preventing furuncle.

1. summer acne: 1g of mung bean, 15ml of water, boiled soup, 1 minutes after boiling, 5g of mung bean and watermelon peel (without peeling), boiled and cooled. Drink soup several times a day. The mung bean in the prescription is sweet and cool, which can reduce swelling and lower qi, clear heat and detoxify; Watermelon skin is sweet and cold, which can clear away heat and relieve summer heat, relieve annoyance and quench thirst.

2. Strengthening spleen to relieve summer heat: new