Sustainable Food

Thanks to its high water content, watermelon is one of the most hydrating foods there are. A couple of slices of watermelon is equivalent to a glass of water. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals and therefore helps the body in a series of metabolic processes:

• Skin maintenance.
• Bone-structure growth and maintenance.
• Central nervous-system regulation.

In addition, it has diuretic and purifying effects and helps to prevent heart problems, among other things.
 

It was mainly used in desserts, but it has been used increasingly over the last few years in more “savoury” dishes, such as grills and salads.

In addition to every kind of summer gazpacho combined with tomato, strawberries, melon, beetroot and other greens, and flavoured with mint or other herbs such as basil, we can make a jam with its peel (better with bits of flesh on) leaving it covered overnight in a mixture of water with salt. Mix it the following day with water, cider vinegar, sugar, a piece of cinnamon, a teaspoon of mustard seeds and 2 cloves, if you have any. Cover with a lid and boil for 30 minutes, remove the lid and reduce for 5-10 minutes until the peel becomes transparent. 

We can also make candied watermelon rind to add to pa de pessic [a Catalan sponge cake], plum-cake, tortell de Reis [Catalan Twelfth Night Cake] and other specialities. 
Incidentally, we can use the green part of watermelon peel finely sliced and fried like chips.