What is Yellow Watermelon?

Yellow watermelon will make your summer brighter in more ways than one.

Is there any other fruit that screams summer quite like watermelon? It can be sliced up, eaten ice cold, frozen into dessert, or used in refreshing summer cocktails. What would summertime be without a big juicy watermelon? Even though watermelon is a classic, yellow watermelon may be new to you.

Despite what you may think, yellow watermelon is not a new fruit - it is older than red watermelon. Yellow watermelon looks exactly the same as regular watermelon from the outside, with a striped, green rind. However, once you cut it open, you'll see that the inner flesh of the fruit is a bright golden yellow.

According to some sources, yellow watermelon was actually cultivated before red watermelon and has been grown in Africa for 5,000 years.

It currently comes in about 5 different varieties:

• Yellow Crimson (a sweeter variety than the red Crimson Sweet)

• Buttercup Yellow Melon (a hybrid that’s considered the sweetest of seedless melons)

• Desert King (a type that’s almost orange in color)

• Yellow Flesh Black Diamond (a melon that has a dark green rind and is about as sweet as pink watermelon)

• Yellow Doll (a variety that’s small and matures quickly)

Yellow Watermelon VS Red Watermelon

Red watermelon gets its red color from lycopene, a potent plant pigment and antioxidant that’s also present in tomatoes. While lycopene is one of the things that makes watermelon a superfood, it’s not the only one - it also contains tons of water, fiber, vitamins A and C, and potassium.

Yellow watermelon may not have lycopene, but it does have all the other benefits, plus one more: beta carotene. This pigment is another powerful antioxidant that gives sweet potatoes and carrots their orange or yellowish color. When comes to health benefits, you can eat either one to get what you need!

Yellow watermelon is somewhat sweeter than its red or pink counterparts and has a softer, milder flavor. Some yellow watermelons can taste “meatier” and less watery than certain red ones. This can be affected by growing conditions, when the melons were harvested, and the varietal of seeds used.

Overall, you can expect yellow watermelons to taste very similar to the ones you’ve enjoyed all your life!