This week we nerd out on watermelons (available May to October). All living beings on Earth constantly search for water—tree roots grow into cracked or leaky underground pipes to access the water they carry, camels can go a full week without drinking thanks to the unique water-storage capacity of their oval-shaped red blood cells, and humans have used technology to produce several gallons of water per day out of thin air. In fact, humans have been designing tools to access, store, and harness water for millennia.
"botanically watermelons are vegetables, but culturally we eat them as fruit." Source? This makes no sense. Botanically, fruits are intended to be eaten in order to spread seeds. Watermelon sounds a lot like that.
You're right, thank you for pointing this out. It is confusing and I've edited and clarified the sentence (source: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee).
original: "botanically watermelons are vegetables, but culturally we eat them as fruit." correction: "botanically watermelons, squashes, and cucumbers are all in the same family and are fruit, but culturally we use most of them as vegetables except for the watermelon."
Thanks for writing this; it was beautiful to imagine tired travelers eating watermelon in the Sahara
"botanically watermelons are vegetables, but culturally we eat them as fruit." Source? This makes no sense. Botanically, fruits are intended to be eaten in order to spread seeds. Watermelon sounds a lot like that.
You're right, thank you for pointing this out. It is confusing and I've edited and clarified the sentence (source: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee).
original: "botanically watermelons are vegetables, but culturally we eat them as fruit." correction: "botanically watermelons, squashes, and cucumbers are all in the same family and are fruit, but culturally we use most of them as vegetables except for the watermelon."