As The Watermelon Guy, I get a lot of questions about watermelon, and I’m happy to answer them. Some are great questions with simple answers. Like the ones below.

DAN C. ASKS: Why is watermelon called watermelon?

Watermelons are 92 percent water by weight, the highest percentage of any fruit. It’s a good thing other fruits aren’t named using the same method, though. Otherwise, there’d be some fruits with some pretty weird names.

SANDRA K. ASKS: If I drop a piece of watermelon on the ground, can I pick it up and still eat it?

Despite what the five-second rule might claim, I don’t recommend it. Because a watermelon is so wet, it has a greater chance of picking up all kinds of nasty stuff during its brief stay on the ground. It hurts, I know, but you’ll have to throw that piece away and grab another one. You do have another piece, don’t you?

JANICE T. ASKS: What do I do if I get a bad watermelon from the store?

That happens to the best of us now and then. Many stores may be willing to refund your money or let you exchange it for a new watermelon. Hopefully, yours is one of them. But do let the produce manager know that you got a bad one. Otherwise, how is he to know there is a problem with the quality in the first place? Quite likely, if you picked a bad one, someone else might have a bad one too. They’re all from the same row, after all.

JON S. ASKS: Are you a watermelon-aholic?

Yes. My name is The Watermelon Guy and I am a watermelon-aholic. There, I’ve come clean. Which reminds me, I cleaned out my fridge last night and realized I’m dangerously low on watermelon. Pardon me while I make a run to the grocery store.

It’s time once again for my annual list of the season’s watermelon festivals. As always, pretty much all of these shindigs take place in the watermelon-rich Southern region. If I’m forgetting any festivals, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list. For a more comprehensive festival calendar, visit the “Festivals” page of the National Watermelon Promotion Board website.

Also, if anyone visits any of these festivals (or others), send me some pictures (watermelonexperts@gmail.com) and I’ll post them here on What About Watermelon.

HAMPTON COUNTY WATERMELON FESTIVAL (June 16-24)

LOCATION: Hampton, South Carolina
HIGHLIGHTS: Melon Miss & Master Pageant, watermelon eating contest, watermelon growing contest, parade

LULING WATERMELON THUMP (June 21-24)

LOCATION: Luling, Texas
HIGHLIGHTS: Watermelon contest, coronation of watermelon queen, watermelon eating contest, champion watermelon auction, world championship watermelon seed-spitting contest

PANHANDLE WATERMELON FESTIVAL (June 23-24)

LOCATION: Chipley, Florida
HIGHLIGHTS: Watermelon beauty pageant (not sure whether this one is for people or watermelons), big watermelon contest and auction, watermelon seed spitting contest

BEAUREGARD WATERMELON FESTIVAL (2012 dates not yet determined)

LOCATION: DeRidder, Louisiana

HIGHLIGHTS: “Cutting of the Melon” kick-off event, celebrity seed spitting contest

PAGELAND WATERMELON FESTIVAL (July 20-21)

LOCATION: Pageland, South Carolina
HIGHLIGHTS: Watermelon seed spitting contest, watermelon eating contest.

MISSISSIPPI WATERMELON FESTIVAL (July 20-21)

LOCATION: Mize, Mississippi
HIGHLIGHTS: Watermelon seed spitting contest, watermelon eating contest, greased watermelon race.

LOUISIANA WATERMELON FESTIVAL (July 26-28)

LOCATION: Farmerville, Louisiana
HIGHLIGHTS: Watermelon seed spitting contest, largest watermelon contest, watermelon decorating, watermelon hunt, watermelon auction, watermelon quality and tasting competition, arm wrestling contest (I know the last event isn’t watermelon-related, but an arm wrestling contest is pretty cool, so I gave it a mention)

HOPE WATERMELON FESTIVAL (2012 dates not yet determined)

LOCATION: Hope, Arkansas
HIGHLIGHTS: Watermelon Olympics (with a watermelon toss, among other events), a seed spitting contest, “Watermelon Idol” talent show, watermelon eating contest

\Not many people know this, but I used to be a competitive eater. I wasn’t one of those 50-hot-dogs-in-10-minutes “professional” eaters you see on TV on July 4th. I was more of a local-contest-here-and-there kind of guy. Now that I’m a father, I’m semiretired from the sport, but I’ll be coming out of retirement later this year to do something I’ve always wanted to do: a watermelon eating contest.

The event will take place at Kipona, an end-of-summer arts festival held right here in my neck of the woods (Harrisburg, PA) on September 2. The contest is being hosted by an organization called Fruitopian Artistry. The following day, the fruit artists of Fruitopian Artistry will attempt to set a world record for the tallest fruit sculpture. Here’s how they describe it on their website:

“During the first week of September 2012, we will begin the process of constructing the 40-foot-tall watermelon “tower.” This melon monstrosity will consist of over 65 individually hand carved watermelons and well over 1,200 green apples, all stretching toward the sky!! Of course in true Fruitopian Artistry fashion, there will be a mild fireworks display upon completion of the tower.”

A 40-foot-tall watermelon tower with fireworks? I’m more excited about that than I am about the watermelon eating contest! Either way, I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures of both events and write about them here on the blog in September. Stay tuned!

I came across this image in my search for a watermelon cake to feature on the blog this month. Of course, it isn’t a cake, but a cupcake. That’s the next best thing, really. Better, actually. You get cake and icing without all the hassle of dealing with a fork and plate.

Like any good watermelon cake, the strength of these cupcakes lies in the attention to detail. The contrast between the dark green sprinkles and the light green icing simulates stripes. A thin layer of white icing represents the white inner rind. Then there’s the bright red interior with what I’m assuming are chocolate chip “seeds.”

All in all, it’s an outstanding effort by a true fan of my favorite fruit.

That’s a great question, Anita. As many watermelon fans have probably figured out, it’s becoming harder to find watermelon with seeds (or “seeded” watermelon). In 2003, 42 percent of watermelons sold in grocery stores had seeds. Today, only 16 percent have seeds.

For the most part, that’s a good thing. To answer your question in a general sense, there’s really no difference between seedless and seeded watermelon when it comes to taste. As far as the experience goes, most would agree that not having to deal with seeds is a good thing.

Truth is, a watermelon’s flavor is impacted by lots of different factors (the seeds aren’t really one of them). Taste can be greatly influenced by things like the time of year it was harvested, the amount of rain the region received, the general climate it was grown in, how much sun it soaked up, the type of soil, and several other variables.

For more info on this issue, I turned to Stephanie Barlow at the National Watermelon Promotion Board. She has a watermelon IQ that’s off the charts, which is why I get her take when I have a question that requires technical input. Here’s what Stephanie had to say:

“This is an age-old debate, that’s for sure! The fact is, all watermelon grown and sold for commercial use (to be sold at your local grocery store) must meet a minimum brix level, or sweetness level. Most watermelon exceeds that level, with some having a slightly higher brix level depending on the seed variety and some of the other factors you discussed earlier.”

So there you have it. Bottom line: you can’t go wrong with either variety. If you’re just looking for a quick, no-hassle snack, seedless watermelon is your best option. If you want something to snack on that will also provide projectiles you can spit at your annoying relatives during this year’s family reunion, you’ll probably want the seeded kind.

If you’re not a fan of shrimp, you can also make this sate with grilled chicken. Again, it’s on a stick, so you know it’ll be good.

SHRIMP WATERMELON SATE

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce or to taste
1 dash hot pepper sauce or to taste
16 jumbo shrimp, cleaned, poached and chilled
16 2-inch cubes seedless watermelon
1 serving fresh basil leaves or baby romaine leaves for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Slowly stir the seasoned rice vinegar into the peanut butter until completely blended. Add in the garlic, ginger and soy sauce and mix well. Season with hot pepper sauce to taste. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the dressing over the shrimp and toss to coat well. Chill for 1 hour. To serve, alternate shrimp and watermelon cubes on 4 skewers and baste with the remaining dressing. Serve over fresh basil leaves or romaine leaves.

Truth be told, ever since the “Fork Incident of 2007” I haven’t been that comfortable around blenders. I can use them, but just like a horse, blenders can sense fear. And once they do, they never act exactly the way you want them to.

I really should get over my nervousness, because there are lots of good uses for a blender and I’m only punishing myself by not getting back on the saddle.

I’ll choose one comment at random from all the comments left on the blog this month to receive this blender. According to Amazon.com, it packs 450 watts of power, which allows you to puree all sorts of stuff, “from frozen beverages to dips, from sauces to smoothies, from soup to nuts.”

I’ll bet it doesn’t puree stainless steel forks. I know my last blender couldn’t.

MATERIALS NEEDED

• 1 round seedless watermelon
• 1 medium-sized carving knife
• 1 channel knife (often found at the top of a vegetable peeler; if a channel knife is not available, the tip of a small paring knife will do)
• 20-30 toothpicks or shish kebab skewers to be used to represent teeth

Wash the watermelon and cut a quarter inch slice off the bottom to provide stability. Be careful not to cut too deeply into the red part of the watermelon. You’ll need the hollow watermelon to hold the good stuff once it’s all carved up.

Use a pen to sketch an open-mouth design and cut it out. Avoid carving too far back on the jaw – you’ll need to leave enough rind there to support the top of the head. I also left some of the watermelon flesh in the back of the head to provide support.

Pull away the cut-out mouth portion and remove the red watermelon flesh from the inside. Hollow out the top of the head first to make it lighter and reduce the risk of cracking the rind at the back of T-rex’s head. If you need to, insert a chunk of the removed rind into the mouth opening to provide support during this process.

Cut the eyebrows and nostrils from a piece of the removed rind.  The eyebrows should be cut like crescent moons, and the nostrils are cut in the shapes of inverted teardrops. Use the channel knife or the tip of a small knife to create any desired details on the eyebrows and within the nostrils. I created detail in the nostrils, which you’ll see in the finished image below, but not on the eyebrows. Attach the eyebrows and nostrils to the head with toothpicks.

To make the eye holes, I used a small knife to cut a hole and wedged a rounded piece of watermelon in it to create the eye. For extra detail, I added a black seed to the eyeball (many seedless watermelon have at least a few black seeds).

Fill the T-rex head with chunks of watermelon and other mixed fruit (if desired). Place the cut off ends of shish kebab skewers in the mouth to create teeth. This also helps keep the fruit in the head.

CAUTION: Skewers can be very sharp! Make sure that guests, especially young ones, use a long-handled serving tool to avoid having hands come in contact with the sharp toothpicks. You may even wish to remove a section of the teeth prior to serving so the fruit can more easily be removed.

Great news! My contact at the Cumberland Ag Expo here in Pennsylvania got back to me and the Expo’s board liked the idea of hosting a seed-spitting contest and gave it the official green light.

The next step is to await further input from the board, which will come after their May 10 meeting. At that meeting, they’ll determine the best scheduling for the contest (which day and time during the three-day August event). Until then, I need to start putting together a rough outline of how the contest would be organized, including rules, an overview of the site logistics, how the contest would be carried out, and ideas for potential prizes.

Stay tuned!

Instead of just tossing the watermelon into the back of the car, or running the risk of dropping the watermelon and having it roll into the lake, you might consider carrying it in a watermelon sling.

The smart folks over at thekitchn.com posted instructions on how to build a simple watermelon sling. Their diagram and an excerpt from the instructions are posted below. That’s a drawing of a watermelon sitting on top of a square towel, just in case you were wondering.

Using your average and most basic knot, tie corners 1 & 3 together. Next, tie corners 2 & 4 down over the first knot. Once more tie 1 & 3 to hold the whole thing tight. You will now be able to pick up all 4 corners and sling it over your shoulder (like a continental soldier) as you head out the door. The knots keep the watermelon from rolling around the floorboard or seats of your car as you drive to your destination and the sling is easy to pick up by its handles.