Watermelon: Is it a fruit, vegetable or a fregetable?

July 7 (Ottawa Sun)  OPEN WIDE for watermelon! Nothing beats a mouthful of this refreshing fruit, jam-packed with flavour and goodness.
With its bold, red pulp and cool green shell, watermelon is a fruit that you can eat AND drink — it’s 90% water, best eaten outdoors, close to a pool or sprinkler so you can let the nectar run down your chin and get as messy as you want.

“And it’s loaded with vitamin A, B6 and C, plus it has more lycopene than a tomato,” notes award-winning cookbook author, lifestyle educator and home economist Mairlyn Smith. “In long-term health, we need to be eating more fruits and veggies — even if it tastes like an indulgent treat, it’s nutrient-dense.”

But is it really a fruit — or is it a vegetable? It’s a debate that’s famous in discussions around the tomato, but watermelon is one of nature’s best examples of the “fregetable,” as it’s both.

As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, watermelon is a fruit, technically a ripened ovary of a seed plant and its contents — much like the pepper, pumpkin or tomato.
However, according to Webster’s, a vegetable is anything made or obtained from plants. As a member of the cucurbitaceae plant family of gourds, watermelon is also related to the cucumber and squash, planted from seeds or seedlings, harvested and then cleared from a field like a vegetable.

Since watermelon is grown as a vegetable crop using vegetable production systems, it can also be considered a vegetable.
“Whether you consider watermelon a fruit or a vegetable really depends on your perspective,” says Leslie Coleman, director of communications for the National Watermelon Promotion Board. “But regardless of classification, the important thing is that watermelons are a healthy and fun way to stay hydrated and to get in your 5-10 fruits and vegetables a day.”
Naturally low in fat and sodium, the watermelon is also cholesterol-free.