© Courtesy of California Avocado Commission.

10. The avocado once had a well-entrenched reputation for inducing sexual prowess. Avocados were not bought or eaten by any person wanting to keep their good name.
9. Fallbrook, California is the Avocado Capital of the World.
8. September 16th is National Guacamole Day.
7. The annual California Avocado Festival attracts 100,000 visitors to southern California every October.
6. Avocado is the only fruit color to define a generation.
5. The most common recipe for the avocado is some type of guacamole. During Super Bowl Sunday, in the US, about 50 million pounds of avocados are consumed.
4. All Hass avocados trees are grafted from one original Hass discovered by Rudolph Hass in the early 20th century.
3. Avocado calories have the highest protein content of any fruit.
2. The avocado tree is used as a warehouse; avocados can be kept on the tree for months after reaching maturity. They only soften when picked.
1. Avocados are a nutrient booster – Avocados act as a “nutrient booster” by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene as well as lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

Absolutely Avocado – “Take your taste buds beyond the ordinary with more than 50 recipes featuring the buttery smoothness of this favorite fruit. Soothe your palate with the delicate flavors of Avocado Crab Puffs. Warm up a cold winter’s night with Avocado and Almond Soup or impress your friends with your zesty Guacamole with Attitude. 24 color photos.”

Guac Off! – A humorous look at the avocado while presenting irresistible recipes. Every review has given it 5 out of 5 stars! “With 30 recipes for classic exotic and extreme guacamoles there is a guac to suit every occasion from the green chile-enhanced Brooktown Classic to the ultra-spicy Scarface Guac.”

Avocado varieties, known to botanists as “cultivars,” are created by grafting branches from an original “mother tree” onto rootstock. The seeds from a given tree will not produce trees with fruit of the same quality and characteristics.

Avocados from different varieties vary in overall size, while avocados are long and skinny, others are much more round. Different varieties also ripen at different times of the year so we can enjoy avocados year round. Skin color also varies – from a somewhat smooth green skin to a very rough, bumpy dark green/black.

Hass avocados are probably the best known here in the US – it produces fruit all year long and accounts for over 80 percent of the worldwide commercial product and over 95% of what is grown in California.

© Courtesy of California Avocado Commission.

Other named varieties include Anaheim, Bacon, Creamhart, Duke, Fuerte, Ganter, Gwen, Hass, Jim, Lula, Lyon, Mexicola, Mexicola Grande, Murrieta Green, Nabal, Pinkerton, Queen, Puebla, Reed, Rincon, Ryan, Spinks, Topa Topa, Whitsell, Wurtz, Zutano. Over 1000 named varieties are known, but only a small number are grown commercially.

Here is a brief primer at Gardenweb.com with questions and answers. They say it takes between 3 and 4 years before a tree will “begin setting fruit.” Note that the growers at the Avocado Growers Association suggest it could take much longer.

Buy a 5-year old avocado tree from Clifton’s Nursery for $69 at Amazon.com. According to avocado.org, it takes 7 to 15 years for an avocado tree to begin producing fruit. We found Zutano and Bacon varieties.

The Avocado Growers Association has the best concise directions for growing an avocado from seed.

Finally, a discussion with video of one person’s experiments with growing avocados from seed.

Avocado.org has almost 200 videos, many are discussions with growers or watch this video on cutting an avocado.

Watermelon Calories and Nutrition

Watermelon is naturally low in calories but high in Vitamin A and C. It is an all-around healthy food. Serve it frequently as both a thirst-quencher and a tasty snack.

Watermelon is high in lycopene, and is second only to tomatoes in its percentage of this important antioxidant. Consuming foods which are rich in lycopene is thought to help prevent heart disease and cancer.

You can find detailed nutrition and calorie information in our USDA food database for dried Watermelon seeds and raw watermelon.

Save When Buying Watermelon

You will pay more for pre-sliced and pre-packaged watermelon but buy only what you can eat within a week. Melons last quite a while if uncut (and when uncut don’t necessarily need to be refrigerated.) Once cut, however, they are only at their best for a few days.

You also will often have the choice between seedless and seed-bearing varieties. Seedless varieties may be more convenient but may cost more.

See our Seasonal Food Calendar — You will find plentiful watermelon choices in June through September, although in many markets you will find imported watermelons year round.

Growing Watermelon

Growing watermelon is easy if you follow a few basic rules. First, always plant the seeds on mounds of dirt. This may sound unnecessary but it encourages deep rooting, and, well, it just works. I have had great luck growing melons even here in New Hampshire where the summers are short and not always hot. I like to plant the seeds directly into piles of manure, or a rich mix of manure and soil. Water the seeds a bit to get them started, but once they get going, just let the plants do their thing. You might want to put a good layer of grass clippings as mulch around the plants to help retain soil moisture. You can also use black plastic which will also combat weeds and help heat the soil.

Watermelon Seeds

Save your seeds! If you grow heirloom varieties, you can keep the seeds, however, do not try to do this with commercial varieties. (Seedless varieties are hybrids that do not produce a viable seed) Keep a few dozen dark colored, fully-formed seeds when eating your watermelon. Dry them completely then toss them in an envelope for use next spring. You will save money and you will find that seeds keep well for one or two years.

Watermelon Varieties

According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board web site, there are 200-300 varieties of watermelon grown in the US and Mexico, but perhaps 50 varieties are the most common. We looked at three seed companies and their watermelon seeds

If you are going to grow your own, consider 3 categories:

Heirloom varieties – These are old varieties that have been kept alive by seed saving. They are often unusual in some respect; growers keep growing them because they find them well adapted to certain climates and they have traits worth preserving. Look to Fedco Seeds, Johnny’s Seeds and High Mowing Seeds for a selection of heirloom watermelon varieties. I love the Moon and Stars heirloom – the unusual markings on the outside of the melon are unique!

Organic Seeds – Chances are that you will find organic seeds where you find heirloom varieties. Look also to Fedco, Johnny’s and High Mowing for organic choices.

Hybrid varieties – Don’t confuse hybrid varieties with genetically modified – hybrid seeds are the result of natural cross pollination of plants to emphasize and accentuate certain traits. The only downside to hybrids is that you cannot save the seeds. We found a selection of 6 hybrid varieties at Park’s Seed.

Watermelon Recipes

There is no better collection of watermelon recipes than at the National Watermelon Promotion Board web site.

Our two favorites are: Watermelon Popsicles and Watermelon Banana Split. So easy to make.

We also love the Watermelon Granita and Watermelon Smoothie recipes at the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Website.

Consider also a Melon Salsa – easy to prepare and perfect for a summer appetizer served with chips.

Watermelon Facts

It would be hard to beat the collection of fun facts on watermelon assembled by the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

Concerned about Pesticides in Watermelon?

On the Environmental Working Group’s chart of contamination load of common produce items, watermelon ranks toward the bottom of the list, meaning it is relatively low in its tendency to contain pesticides and chemicals.

The Fate of a Watermelon

Ever wondered what happens to a watermelon left out at room temperature? Watch this video on You Tube which tracks its slow decomposition over 9 days.

Amazing Carved Watermelons

Somebody forwarded us an email that apparently has been floating around the Internet lately – it contains photos of carved watermelons made by someone with incredible talent.

Amazing table display of carved watermelons

Watermelon carved to show a baseball player at bat

A beautifully carved turtle and crane in a watermelon

A couple dancing the Tango are carved into a watermelon

Intricate flowers carved into a watermelon

Running Horse in Watermelon

A bicycle racer depicted in watermelon - could it be Lance?

Vincent Van Watermelon

I struggle mostly with saving money while shopping for food because its hard to buy produce for one without spending a lot of extra money for small portions and a lot of packaging. When I buy regular-sized things, they tend to go bad before I can finish it. I hate to waste food because it feels like I’m throwing money away! Do you have any advice on how to shop more frugally for one?

I understood exactly were Elizabeth was coming from. I am single and live alone except for my beloved tri-colored corgi. I have a small 720 square foot 1/2 duplex with a tiny kitchen and very messy pantry.

At the end of 2008 I was working in the hospital building industry. The industry just tanked and all of a sudden I stopped working for my client. I found myself happily broke, moving in the direction I wanted to be moving in and now having to cook my own meals. I wasn’t even sure if I remembered how to cook for one person.

I had been single for ages but hadn’t done my own cooking. The culture I had been working was one where you went out to lunch every day with your co-workers. This entailed a $10.00+ meal of varying degrees of nutritional goodness. The meals fell into the categories of bbq, mexican, chinese, southern and foods from your childhood.

Dinner was eaten out or whatever snack food and condiment combination I came up with from my fridge. That is one thing about being single you have a great condiment selection. I am very partial to pickles, olives, pestos and mustards.

And I have definitely gained some weight over the last couple of years embracing this lifestyle. This is not something I am happy about. I am short and when I gain weight I start to look alot like a fire hydrant. Not particularly attractive. Plus being in my mid-40′s now with bits falling off I am hyper-aware of health and eating.

So I searched around online to see if there was any web sites with tips and so forth for the single kitchen. I thought it would make my transition to home cooker on a budget easier. There wasn’t to much out there but I did learn how to potion out 24 servings of chili to freeze but that was about it. Which is really surprising considering that according to Euromonitor International:

• The number of one-person households worldwide reached 202.6 million in 2006, up from 153.5 million in 1996;
• The trend of single households is closely correlated to culture and living standards. As such, developing regions tend to have a considerably lower proportion of single households than developed regions;
• Most single householders fall into one of the three categories: single young professionals who can afford their own place, middle-aged divorcees, and elderly people who tend to be on a tight budget;
• The proportion of single households is highest in developed countries. In 2006, one-person households accounted for 28.9% of all households in Western Europe, 26.7% in North America and 25.7% in Australasia;

That’s alot of single people that need help in the kitchen. I know 8 months ago I did. And it is not like I can’t cook because I can. It is just different when you are single. Even a friend of mine who is a stellar cook admitted to regularly eating canned tomato soup and toast in her single kitchen. And Elizabeth is right about the food waste. The USDA states:

• 91 billion pounds of food were lost by consumers and foodservice in 1995.
• Foodservice and consumer losses accounted for 26 percent of edible food supplies.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables accounted for nearly 20 percent of consumer and foodservice losses.

That is an outrageous amount of waste. Waste that I can’t afford in my kitchen. The USDA Food Plans budgets for my sex and age group anywhere from a thrifty $34.80 to a liberal $69.00 per week for food. That means I can be losing anywhere from $9.04 to $17.94 in food waste per week. I have better things I could be doing with that money than tossing it out.

For the last 8 months, I have been practicing and experimenting in a single kitchen to see just how best to operate a kitchen for one and save money. And now that we have the site relaunched I have a forum to expand on this topic.

I hope some of my posts help you in the kitchen and you find the rest of our site useful as well.