Melon is a valuable, ancient, agricultural crop known for its taste and dietary qualities. This fragrant fruit contains many vitamins and minerals that are good for human health.. Melon is a unique product, possessing not only delicious taste, but also certain healing properties. So what kind of exotic plant is this? A melon is a berry or a fruit, let's see this now.
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Is melon a fruit, berry, or maybe a vegetable?
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.
Because of the extraordinary sweetness of the fruit, many consider melon to be fruit.. In addition, melon is often found in a variety of fruit salads, desserts and refreshments. However, the fact that fruits are fruits growing on a tree or shrub is contrary to the fruit of the melon. After all, the melon grows on bahche, similar to watermelons and pumpkins.
The version that the melon is a berry also deserves special attention. Melon grows on the ground, like many types of berries, and also has some features of the berries, such as: the presence of solid seeds inside, thin skin outside and juicy middle. From the point of view of botany, the fruits of melon crops are considered to be berries, but not typical. More often, they are called false-pods, but there is also a separate name-pumpkin.
It is quite unusual to attribute melon to vegetable crops, but biologists find this version very logical.After all, we should not forget that the edible fruits growing on herbaceous plants are considered to be just vegetables. The melon has a long grassy stem, which also indicates its vegetable origin.. In addition, the melon belongs to the pumpkin family and has an undeniable relationship with cucumber, zucchini and pumpkin.
So what is a 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 abundance of useful properties.
Description and botanical characteristics of melon
Melon-grass annual crop belonging to the pumpkin family. Gourd plant of the genus cucumber. The melon has a long creeping stalk reaching 3 meters in length. The melon fruit is a multi-seeded pumpkin.
Melon's root system is quite impressive and branched out.able to retain moisture for a long time. Among all the melon and gourd plants, the most needed fertile soil and sunshine are melons.
This crop originates from northern Africa and northwest India. Melon is so ancient culturewhat is present in Egyptian drawings made more than 6 thousand years ago.
How does a melon grow?
Melon-thermophilic, southern plant that requires an abundance of light. She prefers heat and even drought, rather than humidity. The maximum allowable moisture for this melon culture is 60-70%. Melon has a massive root system, thanks to which it is able to get moisture at a depth of up to 1 meter.
This plant needs a lot of free space for active development and comfortable growth.
For seed germination requires a temperature not lower +15 degrees, and for further growth and development of plants from +28 degrees and higher. For example, the optimum temperature for southern melons is + 33 / + 37 degrees. When the thermometer drops below +15 degrees, melon growth stops.
Ripening melon
The melon ripening season is in 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 melon variety, with early, middle or late ripening. In addition, the rate of maturation is influenced by: the amount of fertilizers, the frequency of irrigation, the structural and mineralogical composition of the soil, protection from pests and diseases.
Melon maturity is usually determined by the smell of the fruit and the color of the skin. Juicy, ripe fruit emits a sweet, floral aroma with light notes of vanilla, honey, pineapple and even pears. If the pronounced smell is absent, it means that the fetus is still too early to shoot.
Calorie and composition
Melon - low-calorie product, perfect for fasting days. Melon pulp is 90% water, which is why it relieves thirst so well.
Calorie melon to a greater extent depends on the variety of pumpkin and its growing conditions. Average calories per 100 gr - 33 kcal:
- Protein - 0.6 g
- Fat - 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates - 7.4 g
In the composition of the melon are present: pectins, starch, dietary fiber (cellulose), saturated fatty and organic acids, and also ash.
Cleansing the body of toxins is largely due to the presence of a significant amount of pectin. Besides, pectins have a positive effect on metabolism and intracellular respiration of tissues.
The benefits of melon for the body
Despite the fact that honey gourd consists only of glucose and water, however, its fruits are replete with a huge number of valuable trace elements.
- Due to the significant amount of calcium, potassium and magnesium in the composition of solar pumpkin, occurs vessel strengthening, the work of the heart is improved and the blood circulation process is improved.
- Ascorbic acid is present in sufficient volume in the melon, which plays an important role in strengthening human immunity.
- Certainly an important component of this falsehood is iodine. Therefore, it is advisable to eat melon to prevent problems with the thyroid gland.
- Iron, chlorine and phosphorus are no less important minerals in the melon composition, daily needed by man.Due to the significant amount of iron, melon is extremely useful for anemia (anemia).
- Melon fiber has beneficial effect on intestinal microfloratherefore, it is recommended to use it for people with a slow digestive process and impaired metabolism. In addition, the melon perfectly copes with the removal of cholesterol from the vessels.
- Melon is actively used in cosmetology, due to the abundance of vitamin A in its delicate pulp. Melon-based face masks give skin elasticity, preserve youth and stop the processes of inflammation. And carotene perfectly moisturizes, even very dry skin.
Melon in the diet of a pregnant woman
Melon has a rather high content of folic acid (vitamin B9), indispensable for women's health. It is thanks to folic acid, eating melon during pregnancy is goodas a future mother and baby.This acid improves the properties of breast milk and helps a woman carry the fruit. The use of melon in the period of carrying a baby can be compared with taking multivitamins.
An additional advantage of honey pumpkin is her 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 hypervitaminosis (excessive glut of vitamins).
Do not forget that the melon is an independent product that is not desirable to be mixed with the main dishes. Otherwise, it may cause stomach upset and diarrhea.
Melon should be treated with caution to those people who have a predisposition to sharp jumps in blood sugar.
Melon Recipes
From the melon you can cook a variety of dishes, from completely trivial to extraordinary. The best reminder of summer will be fragrant melon compote.For the winter, you can prepare melon jam or jam. Fragrant, fragrant fruit cake, 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 to cottage cheese casserole. And about the gorgeous refreshing melon cocktails and smoothies in the summer and can not speak.
Chicken Salad with Melon
Ingredients:
- Boiled chicken breast - 2pcs
- Small melon - 1 pc.
- White ground pepper - add to taste
- Salt - to taste
- Lemon - 1 pc.
- Mayonnaise - 100g
- Dill - 1 bunch
- Garlic - 2 slices
Cooking:
It is necessary to clear the melon from seeds and peel, then chop the pulp in small cubes. Chicken fillet cut in medium pieces and mix with melon. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce:
Finely chop the dill and garlic cloves, add them to the mayonnaise. Pour this mixture with lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Then, dress up our salad with this sauce.
Cottage cheese and melon breakfast
Ingredients:
- Melon - 1 slice
- Cottage cheese - 1 glass
- Carrots - 1 pc
- Sour cream - 3 tbsp
- Honey - 1 tbsp
Cooking:
Grind the cottage cheese in a blender, then mix it with sour cream until smooth. Grate carrots on a fine grater, then mix it with the resulting curd mass. Add honey.
In the end, finely chop the melon, mix everything thoroughly and serve to the table.
Ancient times the melon was considered an exquisite delicacy and was served exclusively by royal ladies and important foreign guests, which had to be sure to surprise. A medieval doctor seriously argued that the melon is a panacea for many serious diseases. One thing we know for sure, the melon is certainly a valuable and useful product.