What is melon. Origin and history of melon culture

Melon is one of the crops, without which it can not do dinner table late summer and early autumn. sweet pulp looks great in fresh, and after processing as candied fruit, jam or pie filling. Certainly, most no matter what the name of the melon is, because it is delicious even without a scientific definition. But sometimes in a conversation you want to call it correctly, and then a natural question arises, what is it. Is melon a berry, fruit or vegetable? In this article, you will find out which family this culture belongs to, where it came from and how it is still correct to call it.

According to biology textbooks, the melon belongs to the Pumpkin family, the Cucumber genus, and is essentially a gourd. It is widely believed that it spread from the vast expanses of Central and Asia Minor. There is a grain of truth in this, because she loves warmth and an abundance of light, is quite resistant to soil salinization and drought, while reacting negatively to high humidity.

However, for the first time in the pages of history, the melon appears as one of the sacrificial gifts on Egyptian frescoes dating back to the 3rd-4th millennium BC. However, around the same period of time, it was cultivated by many peoples who lived on the territory of present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and China.

Of course, in those days, the melon grew in the wild, so its pumpkins were significantly different from those fruits that we are used to eating now. The ancestors of the modern melon, for the most part, belonged to the genus Cucumis and grew abundantly in Africa. Of the 38 species, 32 grew throughout the African continent, but were not limited only to this territory; travelers often met fruits in Guinea and Arabia. In their form and taste, they were similar to those that grow in India: small pumpkins are egg-shaped and practically do not smell.

If you pay attention to other natural areas where melons have been freely growing since ancient times, then in Northern Manchuria they appeared from the tropical part of Asia and partly from Africa. But in China, this plant came from India. It is curious that it is in these regions that wild melon is widespread, while in the rest the domesticated variety is more common.

The first mention of melon cultivation in Russia dates back to the 16th century, when the plant was grown in greenhouses. However, planting in open ground was quickly transferred.

Afghanistan and Northwest India are considered to be the birthplace of the cultivation of the melon familiar to us. It is in these regions that one can trace the transition from wild culture to home with traces of selection. Apparently, it was from there that the seeds of an already cultivated plant came to Turkey, where there is, probably, the largest number cultivars and varieties of this crop. This is not surprising, given the favorable climate for its growth.

So this representative of the Pumpkin family traveled a lot across continents and countries before taking on the form we are used to - a large, juicy and sweet pumpkin.

Vegetable, fruit or berry?

No matter how interesting the melon travels across the continents, this does not answer the question of interest to many, how to properly name the culture: a fruit or a vegetable. To begin with, there is a significant difference between the culinary and botanical definition of many plants. So, for example, we are used to saying “fruit” about all sweet fruits, and “vegetable” about any unsweetened part of the plant. That is, given that the melon is sweet and usually eaten as a dessert, from a culinary point of view, it is a fruit.

In biology and botany, things are different. A vegetable is a leafy part of a plant (like spinach), roots (like carrots), stems (like ginger), or flower buds (like cauliflower).

According to BES, a vegetable is also called a fruit, meaning those parts of a plant that form from a flower and serve as a repository for seeds. Dry fruits include: leaflet, bean, pod, box, nut, caryopsis. To juicy: berry, apple, pumpkin, drupe. Expanding this definition, a vegetable is the succulent part of herbaceous plants that are eaten, such as shoots, roots, tubers, rhizomes, inflorescences, leaves, heads, bulbs. Since the fruits of the melon are pumpkins, from the point of view of botany, it is a vegetable.

The confusion arises from the fact that "fruit", as a definition, is used on a par with the fruit. A fruit is an edible fruit from a tree or shrub, usually angiosperms, and also formed from the ovary.

The following species variations of the large group “fruit” are divided:

• with juicy pulp and seeds - orange, melon, apple, cucumber;
• with juicy pulp and large bone- cherry, peach, plum;
• dry fruits - walnut, bean, pea.

Therefore, the melon simultaneously fits into both categories, being both a fruit and a vegetable. At least, why argue with botany?

Nothing less than a fruit vs. vegetable”, people are occupied with a dispute on the topic: “What if a melon is not a fruit or a vegetable, but a berry?”. And here everything becomes even a little more complicated, since this representative of the Pumpkin family is really, in addition to everything else, a berry, again in a botanical definition. We used to call small berries juicy fruits that grow on trees, herbs and bushes. And the melon is not at all like a cherry or a strawberry, at least in size. What is the logic?

According to the botanical definition, the berry has a thin shell, juicy flesh and a hard stone. It is formed from the ovary, but it can appear not only from it, but from any part of the flower (in strawberries and strawberries, the berry is formed from the receptacle). Such a development scheme is called a false berry.

Pumpkin melon, watermelon and cucumber (even a cucumber is not just a vegetable!) Are similar in structure to berries, but differ significantly big amount seeds and pericarp. Therefore, these representatives of Pumpkin belong to false berries.

No matter how they call fragrant melon!

Large berry, melon fruit, sweet vegetable. The tamed cultivated melon managed to completely confuse scientists with its mystery. It's time to make riddles: sweet, but not a fruit, grows on the ridge, but not a vegetable, with seeds, but not a berry. So who is she, a melon - is it a berry, fruit or vegetable?

How melon grows

It is no coincidence that scientists cannot unambiguously classify a melon. Moreover, according to the type of stem, the plant is an annual grass, but is grown as a gourd. The closest relatives of melons are vegetables (pumpkin, cucumber), berries (watermelon), grassy vines (loofah, or vegetable washcloth).

Melon grows on melon. It has a long grassy stem from two to four meters long and a powerful root system, deepened into the soil by a meter and to the sides by two meters.

In order for a melon to bear fruit well, it needs to create certain conditions: good lighting, dry air and air temperature from 25 to 38 degrees. The plant should be watered moderately, but regularly. The dryness of the soil will not destroy the plant, but it will not affect the taste of the fruit for the better.

The southern melon tastes sweet, fragrant, sugary. The most common variety "torpedo" is very tasty and enjoys the well-deserved love of Russians. From other sweet melons to Central Asia cultivate varieties "Zardy", "Khandalaki", "Ameri".

Melon is a cultivated plant that is bred solely through selection. The first images of melon fruits are found on Egyptian household items and art. However, scientists have not been able to find the direct ancestors of the modern melon. Wild melons today grow in northern Africa, India and northwestern Iran. The fruits of these plants are unsweetened and taste similar to cucumbers, which further complicates the classification of melons. Is it a berry, fruit or vegetable - the question is still relevant.

TO today less heat-loving northern varieties have been created. They are not as sweet, but they tolerate cool climates well. The fruits of mature melons, depending on the variety, can weigh from a few grams to 16 or even 20 kilograms.

On one stem, from seven to two or three copies can ripen. They have a beautiful rounded shape, resembling a sphere or a cylinder. The color of melon fruits varies: they can be yellow, brown, white, and even striped green.

Hypothesis one: melon is a fruit

So I want to call a melon a fruit. It is sweet, juicy, remarkably tasty in the composition of the lungs. fruit salads. As in any fruit, there are a lot of useful vitamins and minerals in the melon: ascorbic and folic acid, silicon, iron, magnesium, sodium.

But fruits are plants whose fruits grow mainly on trees, less often on shrubs. The melon, on the other hand, settled comfortably on the ground, like some kind of vegetable or berry. Yes, and the stems are herbaceous, so it clearly does not fit under the “fruit classification”. To the question "Is a melon a berry, fruit or vegetable?" it is difficult to give a definite answer. But one thing is clear: clearly not a fruit, despite sweet taste, fruity aroma and juicy flesh.

Hypothesis two: melon is a vegetable

It's strange to think of a melon as a vegetable, but for biologists, this definition makes sense. The fact is that edible fruit, which give herbaceous plants (actually herbs) and are called vegetables.

The closest relatives of melon are juicy healthy cucumber and orange beauty melon. In favor of the "vegetable classification" is the fact that the Japanese, for example, grow delicious, but not at all sweet varieties of melons and use them in the form vegetable dishes.

If you deeply understand the question of what a melon is - is it a berry, fruit or vegetable, then from the point of view of biology, the following arguments can be made in favor of the vegetable theory:

Melon leaves are very similar to cucumber leaves in shape and surface texture;

The color of flowers and their size are identical in cucumber and melon;

Like a cucumber, the melon root system develops in breadth, does not tolerate transplantation well, since the roots are easily injured.

If we compare the whip of cucumber and melon

Melon has similar biological signs not only with cucumber, but also with pumpkin, zucchini and even watermelons. Scientists attributed the mysterious plant to the pumpkin class. But only in order to somehow solve the problem of classifying melon fruits. Judging by the biological characteristics, melon is indeed closest to vegetables. However, for an exhaustive answer to the question of what a melon is - is it a berry, fruit or vegetable, the similarity of biological signs is clearly not enough.

Watermelon, in any case, definitely does not belong to vegetables, but has common features with melon. In addition, it is not clear what to do with sweet, juicy and fragrant pulp: this is clearly not a sign of vegetables.

Attempts to find a compromise have ended up with vague definitions being used for melon. For example, due to its atypical sweetness and active use in cooking, melon has the name of a dessert vegetable. In addition, the fruit of the melon is called a pumpkin, as well as a false berry. So what is a melon - is it a berry, fruit or vegetable?

Hypothesis three: melon is a berry

The hypothesis that a melon is a berry also has a right to exist. Some people think that they are. Who actively defends the belonging of melon fruits to vegetables.

Several points testify in favor of the berry classification of melon:

Like all edible berries, the melon is very juicy;

It grows on the ground, like many berries (strawberries, strawberries, cloudberries, lingonberries);

Has a pleasant sweet taste;

It has all the characteristics of a berry: thin skin, juicy middle and hard seeds inside.

The last feature applies equally to fruits. In this sense, the difference from fruits from berries is the size of the fruit and its formation exclusively on the branches of a tree or bush. As for the melon, it is a gourd. Like watermelon, it is called a giant berry, or false berry.

Important point in determining what a melon is – it is a berry, fruit or vegetable, has the size of a fruit and the number of seeds. Unlike real berries, melon is a real giant. However, this merit belongs entirely to breeders who have been achieving such a result for many centuries and even millennia. In addition, melons have many more seeds than normal berries.

That is, a melon is not quite a berry. It turns out that the plant has biological characteristics of two main types of fruits: vegetables and berries. Hence the ambivalent attempts to define the melon as a gourd (vegetable classification) or a false berry (berry classification).

By and large, for the average consumer, the answer to the question of what a melon is - is it a berry, fruit or vegetable? The main thing is that the sweet juicy pulp is very tasty, and also useful.

What is useful melon

The melon has a sweet, slightly spicy aroma, vaguely reminiscent of cucumber and pumpkin freshness. The peel of the fruit is rough, and the pulp is tender and juicy. Depending on the variety, melons differ in sweetness and pulp density.

The benefits of melon are explained by its chemical composition. The most important substances for human health were found in the melon pulp, including powerful antioxidants and immunomodulators:

Ascorbic acid;

Folic acid;

Amino acid complex;

Vitamin complex (vitamins A, E, almost the entire group B);

Micro and macro elements, including silicon, zinc, cobalt, iron, phosphorus, manganese, iodine, magnesium, sulfur, sodium, potassium, chlorine;

organic acids.

Melon copes well with swelling and inflammatory diseases genitourinary system, helps the body defeat a cold, has a mild laxative effect on the intestines, helps get rid of toxins and normalize digestion.

People who regularly consume melon pulp slices rarely suffer from diseases of cardio-vascular system, kidneys and digestive organs. Melon is the prevention of atherosclerosis, urolithiasis, thyroid pathology. In addition, due to the carbohydrates contained in pumpkin, stimulation brain activity.

Melon at the same time helps the brain to work well and calms the nervous system, helps to get rid of insomnia and irritability. Melon desserts are very useful for pregnant women. Due to the high content of folic acid in the body of a pregnant woman, a normal placenta is formed, and in the body of the fetus - nervous system without pathologies.

How to eat melon

The wonderful and mysterious melon itself is a wonderful full-fledged dessert. That is why it is not recommended to eat it after a plentiful feast: it will be difficult for the stomach to process slices saturated with sugars. You can not eat melon on an empty stomach.

Most correct option- eat melon slices two hours after the main meal. It will be a tasty, healthy and nutritious snack.

In addition, a variety of dishes can be prepared from melon. dessert dishes, salads, pastries, jams, jams, compotes. It all depends on how exactly the melon is perceived - as a berry, fruit or vegetable.

Here, for example, is a wonderful salad with melon, in which it acts as a vegetable component, despite the sweet taste.

Ingredients:

2-3 lettuce leaves;

Two hundred grams of melon pulp;

six pieces king prawns;

tablespoon olive or mustard oil;

a tablespoon of sesame;

Tea spoon white vinegar balsamic (optional)

The preparation is very simple.

Cut the melon into small cubes, pick the salad with your hands, boil the shrimp in salted water. Mix all the ingredients, season with oil-vinegar dressing, garnish with sesame seeds when serving.

unusual fruit melons are a real work of art of selection. Thanks to the efforts of ancient breeders, today we enjoy the wonderful taste and inimitable aroma of pumpkin false berries.

This article is intended for those who simply enjoy the taste and aroma of juicy melons, whose inquisitive mind wants to find the answer to the question of a melon - a vegetable, fruit or berry, or maybe a completely incomprehensible "hybrid" that does not belong to any known or familiar plant species. applies? It should be noted right away that the inquisitive are unlikely to receive an exact answer to this question ... because it simply does not exist.

There are several classifications, in each of which the plant applies equally to vegetables, fruits, and even berries. Here is such an ambiguous fruit ...

Three classifications of one fetus

If you understand what this plant refers to, you should pay attention to the appearance and composition of the fetus. According to the "scientific" theory, the melon represents the pumpkin family (in some varieties, the fruits differ from the pumpkin only in smaller sizes), and the genus is the cucumber. These facts allow the plant to be classified as a vegetable.

However, her taste qualities they say, rather, that it is a fruit - sweet and fragrant. In addition, by the number of saccharides in the composition, it is slightly difficult to attribute melon to vegetables. It is this classification that is accepted in cooking - chefs have no doubt that melon is not a vegetable, but 100% fruit. Or, at worst, a berry ...

Yes, there is another classification according to which a melon is a berry. But the categories are "false".

So it turns out that this plant can be quite deservedly called the "apple of discord" and give everyone the right to classify it at their discretion. However, most often, for convenience, it is still called a fruit, even included in the composition. fruit diets, consider great snack, also one of the most healthy desserts- vegetables, as you know, are not classified as desserts, so we will assume that this fruit is “still that fruit”.

About origin and taste

By and large, it doesn’t matter at all which classification to adhere to, what category this plant belongs to, melon is delicious, useful fruit which adults and children love. As far as this plant is concerned, its origin is much more important, as well as the variety. It is they who determine how tasty the melon will be, how much benefit you will receive as a result of its use.

In the very general view, the birthplace of the melon is Central and Asia Minor. However, today they have learned to cultivate it and quite successfully grow it in regions with a colder (unfavorable "in theory" for the plant) climate. But, nevertheless, it should be noted that it is impossible to grow a full-fledged "Asian" in "temperate" climatic zones.

It is believed that the most delicious. This variety is recognized as a leader in the amount of vitamins, minerals and other important trace elements. This variety is also the sweetest and most fragrant. Many experienced gardeners from " middle lane» manage to grow it in conditions of insufficient heat and sun.

But the result that they get does not always correspond to their desires - the plant is very thermophilic, so even a “torpedo” ripened in a temperate climate will not have the same properties (taste, chemical) that a similar fruit has grown under the sun of Uzbekistan or Tajikistan.

For growing in areas with "moderate" temperature and "sunny" indicators, the "" variety is more suitable (some, by the way, believe that this is a hybrid that breeders created just for the "average" climatic zone). It is not so sweet, but it ripens well in conditions of insufficient heat and high humidity (although they do not like air humidity, like melon soils at all!).

If you choose seeds for growing melons on the site, it is best if it is a mid-season (early) hybrid variety - shade-resistant, also able to tolerate lower temperatures.

Of course, such fruits will not differ in sweetness and juiciness, but the likelihood that the plant will spoil is much higher than if you try to grow a varietal "Asian" from melon seeds on the site.

A little about records

According to the generally accepted description of the plant, it is believed that one melon shoot is capable of producing from one to eight fruits. On average, one pumpkin (as experts call the melon fruit) weighs 2-3 kilograms. There are smaller fruits up to 1.5 kilograms and larger ones - up to 10 kilograms. However, since a melon is a pumpkin, and they, as you know, can be more impressive in size, the fruit can reach much larger weights.

For example, in the Guinness Book of Records, the largest recorded melon had a weight of 118 kilograms, it was grown back in 1985 in the United States of America. However, in 2009, information appeared in the media that the world's largest melon weighing ... 447.5 kilograms was recorded in Austria. Of course, all these giants are nothing more than an accident or an experiment, because an ordinary gardener does not need them, but a fact is a fact ...

Useful for experimenters

If your goal is not the biggest, but the most unusual melon- you will be interested to know that some gardeners are successfully crossing melons and pumpkins or cucumbers. These plants are very close "by genus", so the hybrid turns out to be quite edible, although with indefinite taste.

For example, a hybrid of pumpkin and melon (also not clear - fruit or vegetable), some call pumpkin or pumpkin, looks like a pumpkin, but has taste unsweetened melon. It is noted that such a hybrid can smell like a cucumber, and if not fully ripened, even have a taste of this vegetable.

In fact, maturation is key moment not only for those who grow a hybrid, but also for gardeners who adhere to the "classic" principles - if the melon does not ripen in the garden, most likely it will not be sweet and soft, but leaving it in the garden for too long can result in rotten fruit.

Therefore, when growing melons, it is important to monitor the condition of each individual fruit, regularly check the integrity, density of the peel and pick pumpkins on time, without overexposure in the garden even under favorable weather conditions.

note

Thus, we can say that the melon is an example of contradiction. It cannot be classified as a fruit, but it is also not listed as a vegetable among specialists. It seems to be a berry, but it seems not quite. It has a lot of pumpkin and no less cucumber, but the taste is quite special.

A hybrid, which is a model of usefulness, can lead to serious disorders in the functioning of the body ... In a word, melon is a plant growing product that stands apart and which cannot be disliked for its taste. So is it important whether it is a fruit or a vegetable, if it gives pleasure and benefits health?!

I have melon for breakfast today, how about you?

Melon- another proof of the inaccuracy of the statement that healthy can not be tasty. Probably, you can argue a lot about what is tastier - melon or watermelon. However, hardly anyone can refuse a slice of wonderfully smelling, sweet southern beauty. In a melon, everything is tasty, everything is edible, everything is useful: and aromatic pulp, and peel, and even seeds. Let's see what the melon is useful for, and what it really is.

Melon vegetable or fruit? Melon is a berry!

What kind of relatives are not attributed to this wonderful .... to whom? From the point of view of botany, melon is an annual herbaceous plant of the gourd family, a melon culture from the genus of cucumbers. Actually melon is a false berry, multi-seeded pumpkin of various shapes, weighing from 200g to 20kg.

From a merchandising point of view, melon - dessert vegetable, which on store shelves we most often meet next to another large berry - watermelon. Melon and watermelon, melon and pumpkin, melon and cucumber - these pairs have the right to exist, as they belong to the same family.

Of course, the origin of the southern sorceress is interesting to us, as they say, for the general development. From point of view proper nutrition we are equally interested in knowing about the benefits of melon for our health.

Melon: useful properties and not so

This small (or large) child of the pumpkin family has long been revered not only as wonderful dessert, but also as a dietary and medicinal plant. Some properties of melon, an independent and wayward product, can cause a lot of trouble instead of being useful.

Useful properties of melon.

Melon calorie content - 30-38 kcal / 100 g, depending on the variety. Low melon calories allows you to arrange tasty and pleasant fasting days based on it. But you should not get carried away eating only one melon for more than three days.

Vitamins in melon: folic acid or vitamin B9, vitamin C, beta-carotene. Melon is a valuable source of folic acid, since vitamin B9 is almost completely destroyed during heat treatment, and we usually prefer to use a sweet fruit in in kind. Folic acid is necessary for women during pregnancy and menopause, as well as for anyone who wants to improve memory and get rid of depression. Vitamin C will make our body invulnerable during winter cold, to stock up on them for the future, the beautiful melon will also help us. Beta-carotene will make our skin and hair beautiful. For lovers of a beautiful tan, it is simply necessary to include melon in the beach diet, this will make the tan stable and even. vitamins in melon strengthen our immunity and help defeat the autumn blues.

Melon Properties cheer up, relieve insomnia, fatigue and irritability provides the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which prevents the process of damage to body tissues.

Trace elements in melon provide the fetus healing power. Melon pulp is rich in silicon, which is essential for hard tissues, nerves, skin and hair. A large amount of iron allows the use of melon for the prevention of anemia. Benefits of melon at cardiovascular diseases is the presence of potassium and magnesium.

Useful properties of melon apply not only to women, making them more beautiful, but also to the strong half of humanity. melon seeds From time immemorial, it has been considered the strongest aphrodisiac. Don't throw away melon seeds, they are able to increase male power. Melon seeds can simply be chewed fresh, best with honey. However, it is important to observe the measure - no more than 2g per day, otherwise problems with the spleen are inevitable.

Melon is useful for urolithiasis and cholelithiasis.

A large amount of fiber is perhaps the main advantage of melon. In modern medicine, the fruit is most often used to cleanse the body, to cleanse the intestines. Melon fibers contribute to the removal of toxic substances from the body. However, the properties of melon as a "body nurse" have a downside.

Melon is harmful:

• in combination with dairy products and alcoholic drinks because it causes confusion digestive system;
• nursing mothers, as it can cause digestive problems in the child;
• suffering diabetes, since it contains a large number of sugars;
• in infectious diseases gastrointestinal tract;
• suffering from gastritis and peptic ulcer.

How to eat melon

What combinations and how to eat melon- the question is not idle. Misuse the fetus can cause heaviness in the stomach and upset it at the most inopportune time. Melon is best enjoyed in between main meals, without being mixed with other foods. Although in Central Asia it is believed that melon promotes the digestion of food, and they use it during a hearty meal, as a "natural mezim." Likely to eat big berry It is best to focus on your own feelings.

Not only ripe fresh melon is useful. dried melon- an invariable attribute of oriental tea drinking. Almost all useful substances are preserved in dried melon. Just like fresh dried melon tones and cleanses the body.

frozen melon can be stored in the refrigerator for about three months. It is recommended to freeze only ripe melon. Frozen melon can be used to make smoothies and vitamin drinks.

Popular dishes with melon- jam, jam, marmalade, pickled melon.

Varieties of melons

Useful properties of melon vary depending on its variety. There are a huge number of varieties of melons, but we, the inhabitants of non-hot regions, only a small part of them is available. On the shelves of our stores, you can most often find the familiar melons Kolkhoznitsy and Uzbek melons Torpedoes. Cantaloupe melons and musk melons occasionally appear.

Melon Kolkhoz Woman

These small, round, bright yellow fruits are grown in the Volga region. Melon Kolkhoznitsa - early maturing, bred in the 30s of the last century. Melon Kolkhoznitsa loses to southern rivals in terms of vitamins and minerals, but it has diuretic properties and can be used for weight loss.

Melon Torpedo

Uzbek melons are the sweetest melons. Melon Torpedo in Uzbekistan is called Mirzachul melon. This late variety well tolerated transportation. The pulp of Torpedo is rich useful substances Moreover, she has unsurpassed taste and delicate fragrance.

melon cantaloupe

This is a European variety, less sweet than Uzbek melons, but nevertheless loved in many countries. Cantaloupe melon has a bright orange pulp, denser and less juicy than Central Asian varieties. However, the European melon will not yield to the Uzbek melon with its magical aroma. Based on the Cantaloupe melon, many unpretentious hybrids have been developed that can grow in cool climates.

Melon- a wonderful gift of nature, with correct use giving people health and beauty. Whatever variety of melon you choose, the southern beauty will definitely give good mood!

" Garden

Melon is a valuable, ancient, agricultural crop, known for its taste and dietary qualities. This fragrant fruit contains many vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to human health. Melon unique product, which has not only delicious taste but also certain medicinal properties. So what is this exotic plant, melon is a berry or fruit, let's figure it out now.

It is quite difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question, however, there are several hypotheses on this topic and each of them has its own undeniable arguments.

Due to the extraordinary sweetness of the fruit, many consider the melon to be a fruit.. In addition, melon is often found in a variety of fruit salads, desserts and refreshing drinks. However, the fact that fruits are fruits that grow on a tree or shrub contradicts the melon's fruit affiliation. After all, melon grows on melons, similarly to watermelons and pumpkins.

The version that a melon is a berry also deserves special attention. Melon grows on the ground, like many types of berries, and also has some features of berries, such as: the presence of hard seeds inside, a thin skin on the outside and a juicy middle. From the point of view of botany, the fruits of gourds are considered berries, but atypical. More often, they are called false berries, but there is also a separate name - pumpkin.

It is rather unusual to attribute melon to vegetable crops, but biologists find this version very logical. After all, do not forget that edible fruits growing on herbaceous plants, just considered vegetables. The melon has a long grassy stem, which also indicates its vegetable affiliation.. In addition, the melon belongs to the pumpkin family and has an undeniable relationship with cucumber, zucchini and pumpkin.

So what is melon? Berry, vegetable or fruit? This question remains open to this day, but for the average person it does not play a decisive role. We appreciate the melon for its unique taste and an abundance of useful properties.

Description and botanical characteristics of melon

Melon is a herbaceous annual crop belonging to the gourd family. A gourd plant from the genus of cucumbers. The melon has a long creeping stem, reaching 3 meters in length. The fruit of the melon is a multi-seeded gourd.

The root system of the melon is quite impressive and branched. capable of retaining moisture for a long time. Among all melons, melons need fertile soil and sunlight the most.

This agricultural crop originates from northern Africa and northwestern India. melon so ancient culture, which is present in Egyptian drawings made more than 6 thousand years ago.

How does a melon grow?

Melon is a heat-loving, southern plant that needs an abundance of light. She prefers heat and even drought rather than humidity. The maximum allowable humidity for this melon crop is 60-70%. The melon has a massive root system, thanks to which it is able to get moisture at a depth of up to 1 meter.

Melon is a heat-loving plant, it requires an abundance of light

This plant needs a lot of free space for active development and comfortable growth.

When choosing a place to plant a melon, preference should be given to hills on the ground, where water accumulation is unlikely. Also, when planting, you should avoid the shady sides and focus on the most sunny areas.

For seed germination, a temperature of at least +15 degrees is required, and for further growth and development of the plant from +28 degrees and above. For example, optimum temperature for southern varieties of melons +33/+37 degrees. When the thermometer falls below +15 degrees, the growth of the melon stops.

melon ripening

The melon ripening season falls on the second half of August-September.

The determining factors in the harvest of melons are climatic conditions and the region of its growth.. The next factor is the variety of melon, with early, middle or late deadline maturation. In addition, the ripening rate is affected by: the amount of fertilizer, the frequency of irrigation, the structural and mineralogical composition of the soil, protection from pests and diseases.

In an unripe melon, the rind is firm, while in a ripe one, it gives in slightly when pressed.

The maturity of a melon is usually determined by the smell of the fruit and the color of the skin. Juicy, ripe fruit produces a sweet, floral aroma with light notes of vanilla, honey, pineapple and even. If bright pronounced odor absent, it means that it is too early to shoot the fetus.

Calorie content and composition

Melon - low-calorie product, perfect for unloading days. Melon pulp consists of 90% water, which is why it relieves thirst so well.

The calorie content of melon is more dependent on the variety of pumpkin and its growing conditions. Average calorie content per 100 g - 33 kcal:

• Proteins - 0.6 g
• Fats - 0.3 g
• Carbohydrates - 7.4 g

Melon contains: pectins, starch, dietary fiber (fiber), saturated fatty and organic acids, as well as ash.

Cleansing the body of toxins is largely due to the presence of a significant amount of pectins. Besides, pectins have positive influence for metabolism and intracellular tissue respiration.

The benefits of melon for the body

Despite the fact that honey pumpkin consists only of glucose and water, nevertheless, its fruits abound huge amount the most valuable trace elements.

1. Due to the significant amount of calcium, potassium and magnesium in the composition of the solar pumpkin, strengthening of blood vessels improves heart function and improves blood circulation.
2. In a sufficient volume in the melon is present ascorbic acid, which plays an important role in strengthening human immunity.
3. Undoubtedly important component this false berry is iodine. Therefore, it is advisable to eat melon. to prevent thyroid problems.

1. Iron, chlorine and phosphorus are no less important minerals in the melon composition, daily necessary for a person. Due to the significant amount of iron, melon is extremely useful for anemia(anemia).
2. Melon fiber has beneficial effect on the intestinal microflora Therefore, it is recommended to use it for people with a slow digestive process and impaired metabolism. In addition, melon perfectly copes with the removal of cholesterol from blood vessels.
3. Melon is actively used in cosmetology, due to the abundance of vitamin A in its tender pulp. Melon-based face masks give the skin elasticity, preserve youth and stop inflammation processes. And carotene perfectly moisturizes, even very dry skin.

Homemade melon decoction is the best remedy for age spots. You need to apply a decoction in the form of lotions on age spots 2 times a day for 15-20 minutes, and then just wipe your face. A slight whitening effect is noticeable after 2 weeks of use.

Melon in the diet of a pregnant woman

Pretty in a melon high content folic acid (vitamin B9), essential for women's health. Thanks to folic acid, eating melon during pregnancy is beneficial, How expectant mother, as well as the baby. This acid improves the quality of breast milk and helps a woman bear a fetus. The use of melon during the period of bearing a baby can be compared with taking multivitamins.

An additional advantage of honey pumpkin is its the ability to remove excess fluid from the body of a pregnant woman thereby reducing puffiness.

Contraindications

The main danger of melon lies in its overeating., which is the cause of the development of hypervitaminosis (excessive oversaturation with vitamins).

Do not forget that melon is an independent product that is not desirable to be mixed with main dishes. Otherwise, this May cause stomach upset and diarrhea.

Melon should be treated with caution by those people who have a predisposition to sharp spikes in blood sugar.

Melon Recipes

From the melon you can cook a lot of dishes, from quite trivial to extraordinary. The best reminder of summer will be fragrant compote from a melon. Can be prepared for the winter melon jam or jam. Fragrant, fragrant fruit pie, the main ingredient of which is melon, will not leave indifferent any guest at your table. Also, melon is a great alternative to apples in charlotte and adds honey sweets V cottage cheese casserole. And about chic refreshing melon cocktails and smoothies in summer time and you don't have to speak.

Chicken salad with melon

Ingredients:

• boiled chicken breast- 2 pcs
• Small melon - 1 pc.
• White ground pepper- add to taste
• Salt - to taste
• Lemon - 1 pc.
• Mayonnaise - 100g
• Dill - 1 bunch
• Garlic - 2 cloves

Cooking:

It is necessary to clean the melon from seeds and peel, then chop the pulp into small cubes. Chicken fillet cut into medium pieces and mixed with melon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce:

Finely chop the dill and garlic cloves, add them to the mayonnaise. Watering this mixture lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Then, we dress our salad with this sauce.

Curd and melon breakfast

Ingredients:

• Melon - 1 slice
• Curd - 1 cup
• Carrots - 1 pc.
• Sour cream - 3 tbsp
• Honey - 1 tbsp

Cooking:

Grind cottage cheese in a blender, then mix it with sour cream until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Grate the carrots fine grater, then mix it with the resulting curd mass. We add honey.

At the end, finely chop the melon, mix everything thoroughly and serve.

In ancient times, melon was considered an exquisite delicacy and was served exclusively to royalty and important foreign guests, who had to be sure to surprise. And medieval Aesculapius seriously argued that melon is a panacea for many serious diseases. One thing we know for sure, melon is certainly a valuable and useful product.