TO SOME, watermelons
spell summer. To me, they
spell doom.

By Peggy Trendell-Whittaker

News Reporter

Some time ino my early
childhood, | recall sitting on the
shores of Nicola Lake near Mer-
ritt, eating watermelon and happi-
ly basking in the warm Interior
sunshine,

ft was then my cousin dropped
the bomb. ‘'You know
watermelon seeds are puisonous,
don’t you?" she hissed in a
dramatic undertone.

Ever since then, [ve approach-
ed this outwardly benign melon
with trepidation. After all, it’s
pretty difficutt to avoid all the
seeds when indulging, especially
those white, immature ones that
are cleverly able to disguise
themselves until they are. sliding
down your throat.

So when | received a press
release containing the Official
Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest
Rules (see story this page). |
decided it was time to grasp the
bull by the horns and, as a service
to News readers, discover if there
was indeed any truth {fo the
poison-seed rumour.

A phone call to the Poison
Control Centre put me in touch
with Gillian Willis, the centre's
supervisor.

She was able to reassure me
that watermelon seeds are indeed
nor toxic, but lest 1 be disap-
pointed to have my one item of
watermelon trivia proven incor-
rect, she provided me with
another interesting fact that I bet
you didn’t know about.

Ingredients in watermelon seeds
are utilized in herbal preparations
that result in the expulsion of
ringworms and tape worms from
animals. So unless you're a tape
worm, you don’t have to worry
about the watermelon seed toxicity
quotient.

That settled, on to other Impor-
tant Watermelon Issues. For ex-
ample, which watermelon should
you bring home from the store
with you?

Experts advise choosing a melon
with rounded, well-filled-out ends
and a creamy yellow (not white)
underside. (if you never before
realized that watermelons had
undersides, you're probably not
alone.)

Blanchin

inquisitive

SUE
WILSON

LOOKING
bumper

GARDINER

YOU'RE
ward to a

for-
bean

as

NEWS photo Mike Wakafield

WATERMELON, A popular picnic item at this time of the year, can be used to make refreshing
juices or provide the necessities for a seed-spitting contest.

inhibits vegetables’ maturin

So the

freezing,
preserv-

crop.
simplest means of
ing, is definitely
summer agenda.

“But” vau ask, “do veeerables
veed blanching? Woulda’t they be
cusper ou they werent) softened
before freezing?"

Blinehing, af quick exposure to
Neat, is necessary if the vegetables
are tay he frozen for longer tna
60 days. Eo inactivates the cazyines
that are responsible for veeetables
maturing.

Unless halted by heat, these en-
vyines work sluygishiy, causing the
vegetable to deteriontte even while
frozen,

Blanching partly sterilizes
veretables and makes colors more
vivid, Without beat treatment,
vegetables eventually become
tough, develop off-flavers. and

on the

lose color and sweetness,

AU sceetibles, with the excep.
tian OF teeks, onions, peppers and
herbs. should be blanched before
long-term freezing.

Wash, sort and stice as quichis
as possible after picking and
blanch vevetables in’ small batches
toenmsure even exposure to heat,

Phere are three ways to blanch
~- N Water, aver steam or im the
Microwasye oven. “To baneh in
walter, ise a wite basket, colander,
or loase cheesecloth wrapping to
immerse one pound (S000 2)
sevetables in ore gallon (four
htres) rapidly boiling, unsalted
Water,

Phiee minutes is sufficient: for
beans (freezing charts give the
blanching time for other
vegetables which vary in density).

Steam blanching works well far
french cut beans and delicate as-

Paragus, Steam in Cain layers ina
basket over rapidiy boiling water.
Allow 80%) more time for stean
blanching than water bhinching.

Orouse the microwave oven to
bhaneh in a few seconds,
Whichever method sou choose,
blanched vegetables inust he cool:
ed quickly. Phinge them into ice
water to halt further cooking.
Drain well.

Vreeve in small amounts. so the
temperature of Ube freezer stays
constant and othe beans freese
qiuchly. Duriiw Freezing, water,
naturally present in the bens,
form ice ervstals. Phe quicker the
freeze, the smatler the crystals.

barge ice crystals that for
during slow freezing ropture ceil
walls so they're unable toa hold
water, getables become limp
and lose Chivae.

Beans can be louse-packed for

Wednesday. Augus! 7, 1991 - North Shore News - 45

The melon should teel heavy tor
ity size, and seme say thar thump.
ing the side of an appropriately
sipe watermelon will produce a
deep. hollow sound, as opposed to
a dall thud.

If vou are
melon, look
and dark brown
whitish, seeds.

buying a
for deep red
or black,

pre-cut
flesh
nat

Watermelon
seed spitting
contest rules

THESE hot-off-the-presses Of-
ficial Watermeion Seed Spitting
Contest’ Rules have arrived in
the nick of time for your
August barbecues and beach
parties. They were distributed
by the non-profit’ Fresh For
Flavour Foundation.

Contest Rules

1. The contest is an open
competition to any Canadian
resident of any age or sex. A
person's height, weight or size
of mouth shall not prevent any
indisidual from competing.

Official spitting seeds will be
provided. No one will be per-
mitted to use their own seed.

2. No contestant shall be
allowed to use any form of
pipe, tube or other hole object
through which to pronel a
seed,

3. Any competitor receiving
assistance of any kind at the
moment of seed launching shall
be immediately disqualified.

4. Contestant who acciden-
tally swallows seed while suck-
ing in air prior to launch will
be given one extra seed. Spon-
sors shall not be held responsi-
ble for any after effects of seed
swalowing by any contestant.

3. All spitting shall be from
an erect stationary stance. No
running, jumping, skipping, or
lying down while spitting.

6. All contestants must per-
form as a single.

7, All spitting methods shall
be acceptable: simple blowing
of seed from between the tecth,
from the corner of the lips,
wide-open) mouth, or style
preferred by contestant.

— adapted trom the National
Watermelon Association,
Georaia

process

canvenience, Simply place well
drained, blanched beans on trays
and freese for one ta twee hours
undil solid. Pile into baus, exclude
the air and freeze.

While blanching determines how
long otreven food keeps, the
tentperabire of the freezer aiso has
ansocltect. hood: keeps well) for
nine tO b2 ments if treeser
temperatines are at Ob GUS) O) of
colder. Warmer temperatures
cause dood 1a detertorate more
quickly.

Veretables are ot higher quality
if they are cooked from their
trosen state rather than thinweed
first.

Cook beans in just enough boil-
ing water to keep thent from: sear:
ching to ominimize the loss af
water soluble nutrients. Or mie
crawave, covered, with little of ne
extra water,