In this recurring column, our panel of watermelon experts answer a question posed through our “Ask the Experts” feature in the right hand sidebar. Feel free to ask your own question. All questions get a response and some will be featured here on What About Watermelon.
DEE ASKS: Probably twenty years ago, my uncle used to drive to the southern heel of Missouri and into Arkansas to purchase vegetables and fruit to bring back to mid-Missouri and sell. On one of his trips, he brought back an unusual watermelon to show his friends and family. The melon had seeds, but the flesh of the watermelon was blue. Has anyone else heard of this blue fleshed watermelon? We have been trying to find another one in recent years, but everyone we ask in that area says they’ve never heard of them.
As soon as I read your question, Dee, I was immediately consumed by an urge to track down this mysterious blue watermelon. I personally have never heard of a blue watermelon (I’ve seen yellow watermelons), so I asked some of my watermelon farming friends about it. Much to my dismay, they had never heard of it either.
Then I went online to try to track down the elusive watermelon and could only find the photo on the right of what looks like a very blue watermelon, but I think the picture might be the result of editing magic. (As you pointed out in a follow-up to my answer, it’s too much of a coincidence that the watermelon matches the cabinets and everything else in the picture has sort of a bluish tint.) It might be possible to create a blue watermelon using dye, but at this point, I don’t think it’s possible to grow a blue watermelon naturally.
And so, the mystery remains unsolved… for now.
Dr. Penny Perkins-Veazie
Chef Harry Schwartz
Elizabeth Somer, M.A.
Josh Bailey
J-Slice
Would be nice if somewhere a blue watermelon was found. What would it taste like I wonder? Hope the mystery is solved eventually.
I agree, Ellen. The discovery of a blue watermelon would be a momentous occasion for watermelon lovers like us.
So momentous, that I’m willing to offer a reward to the first person to step forward with physical proof of a blue fleshed watermelon. The reward will be (checking my pockets)… Three dollars and 78 cents!
As for the taste, I imagine it tastes something like real watermelon with a hint of sweet blueberries. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
a blue watermelon…? hmmm well i have to say maybe u should search up the diff kinds of watermelon then narrow ur search to where ur uncle bought it then after that if u cant find it then maybe it was just a special type that went extinct or something anyways good luck finding it
You can see the red of the watermelon in the reflection of the large wedge on the far right. The editor changed the reflection on the butchers knife to be blue, but on the counter top next to it the reflection is red.
Excellent observation, Reflection!! I pasted the photo into my trusty Microsoft Paint program and enlarged it to get a better look and you’re right!
Also, even without enlarging the photo, you can see pinkish reflections in the white bowl that the editor overlooked when he or she changed the color of the watermelon.