The question of filling: melon - a berry or fruit?

It would seem that if a watermelon is a berry, then a melon too. However, the melon belongs to the family of Bakhchevs and is akin to a cucumber. So it turns out that a melon is a vegetable. However, scientists still continue to argue about this. For a man in the street there is not much difference: a melon is a berry or a fruit. The main thing is that it is useful and nutritious.

Originally from Egypt

It is known that the melon came to Russia about 800 years ago from Central Asia. However, her homeland is Egypt. It was along the banks of the Nile that this exotic vegetable grew at first. However, hardly anyone then wondered: "Melon - a vegetable or a berry?"

In Russia melon immediately fell to the taste of the nobility, it even began to grow under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the greenhouses near Moscow. However, later they realized that it is more effective to do this in more southern areas, for example, in the Astrakhan region.

Useful properties of melon

Melon is rich in trace elements, primarily iron. There it is even more than in milk. But iron stimulates hemopoiesis. Therefore, melons are useful to those who suffer from anemia (anemia).

Silicon, available in melon, is necessary for hard tissues, skin and hair, and potassium and magnesium will help prevent cardiovascular diseases.

In Europe, now is very popular juice therapy, used to cleanse the body. The basis of therapeutic juice is melon, as it is digested by the body much faster than the juices of other berries and fruits. Every morning for 20 days it is recommended to drink a glass of melon juice with the purpose of excretion of slags, at the same time it is necessary to add to it any berries that were originally frozen. And in this case it does not matter, a melon is a berry or a fruit, it is important that it has a sufficient amount of useful juice.

In addition to microelements, melon contains a considerable amount of vitamin B9 (folic acid), which also affects the processes of hematopoiesis, hemoglobin formation, lowering of cholesterol in the blood. Directly folic acid has a positive effect on the processes occurring in the nervous system (inhibition and excitation), it helps to prevent the occurrence of stress.

A melon is rich and vitamin C (ascorbic acid), about the beneficial properties of which everyone has heard. Finally, it also contains beta-carotene, which is a natural provitamin A. It relieves us from vision disorders, damage to the skin and hair, and participates in the formation of bone tissue and teeth.

Well, for sure, no one doubts about how useful a melon. It is a berry or a fruit, in this case it does not matter at all.

How to eat correctly

Melon should be eaten as an independent dish, preferably between meals. Because in the stomach together with other food, it can provoke a process of fermentation, which is fraught with increased gas formation. For the same reason, melon is undesirable for breakfast.

You should not abuse melon for those who have diabetes, as well as gastritis and peptic ulcer.

A cut melon should not be left on the table, and even in the refrigerator, bacteria can multiply on it very quickly. It is better to eat it at once.

Do not make a mistake in choosing

To determine if the melon has matured, you need to press on its crust on the other side of the stem: in a ripe melon the crust is relatively soft and will bend under pressure.

The maturity of the melon will be confirmed by a deaf sound, if it is slightly knocked on it, and a delicious aroma.

So, melon is a berry or a fruit? Tricky question. Let's try to answer in another way: a watermelon is a berry, and a melon is a vegetable. But you can store these two fragrant fruits together: indoors on a trellised shelf, placing them in one row so that they do not come in contact, and their tails stick upward. At a plus temperature, but not more than five degrees Celsius, they may well survive the winter.