By Merry Ann Frisby
June 16, 2010
There is a resurgence of enthusiasm about natural foods in modern-day Egypt. One Egyptian keenness is that they love to eat roasted, salted watermelon seeds.
The seeds are a traditional Egyptian snack, usually prepared at home. Egyptian food bloggers are distressed that watermelon growers are abandoning seeded watermelons in favor of seedless varieties.
Much like our renowned retired FSU football coach Mickey Andrews eats sunflower seeds, Egyptians eat roasted salted watermelon seeds and spit out the hulls. Finding the seeds to roast is an increasing problem in Egypt, and contemporary Egyptian foodies are now interested in growing their own seeded watermelons, both to eat the sweet, juicy flesh and to secure the morsels they claim are digestive aids.
Monticello used to supply hungry Egyptians with their watermelon seeds. In 1884, W.M. Giradeau made Monticello famous as the watermelon seed capital of the world. Simpson’s Nursery, founded in 1902, continued to ship watermelon seeds until the 1970s. Simpson’s shipped all over the world and sold boxcars full of watermelon seeds to Egypt.
The current president of Simpson’s Nursery, Fred Beshears, says that in the 1970s the nursery even sent representative Felix Bullard to Europe and North Africa for a month to market the Monticello seeds.
The process of extracting the seeds from the pulpy melon is fairly simple. A machine takes the watermelon sludge into a tank, cleans and sorts the seeds. The seeds are then passed through screens for sizing and grading. The seeds were loaded into 100-pound sacks, taken to the railroad depot in Drifton and sent to a port for export to the seed-eating world.
The Monticello seed processing operation followed the crop as it was harvested. Simpson’s seeded the first melons of the season from South Florida, and moved north as the crops matured. At their peak, Simpson’s was grinding melons from Florida to Colorado.
As hybrid and seedless melons became popular, the seeding operations diminished. No watermelon seeding happens in Monticello now. However, the melon in all its juicy, sticky glory is still celebrated there each June.
The 60th annual Jefferson County Watermelon Festival will draw melon-lovers from all over (possibly even Egypt) to Monticello this weekend. The fest is in swing with an arts and crafts show from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Dogwood and Cherry streets. There’s a Rotary Club barbecue dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Monticello Opera House, with a street dance from 7:30 to 10:30 and Historic Monticello Ghost Tours at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The grand parade struts through the historic downtown streets at 10 a.m. Saturday. This year’s festivities also include breakfast at Farmers and Merchants Bank (7 to 9 a.m. Saturday), the Kiwanis Melon Run (8:15 a.m.), children’s storytelling sessions at Tupelo’s Bakery, children’s theater at the Monticello Opera House (7 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. Saturday) and lots of live entertainment on festival platforms.
When you’re eating your cool melon, you can spit the seeds (test your skills in the seed-spitting contest) or stuff them in your pocket, if you want to try roasting them at home. Although there won’t be roasted seeds at the festival, here’s how they do it in Egypt:
Roasted Watermelon Seeds
Place 1 cup of raw watermelon seeds in a colander and rinse to remove any remaining pulp. Spread out on a cookie sheet or paper towels in a single layer and allow to dry thoroughly (in Egypt, they are placed outside to dry in the sun — the seeds roast better when they are completely dry).
Place the seeds in a frying pan over medium high heat and stir well to turn and prevent burning until they are almost completely roasted.
Add 1 Tbsp. of salt to 1 cup of water and stir until dissolved. Pour salted water over the seeds in the frying pan. Continue to roast the seeds, stirring occasionally, until the water evaporates. Remove seeds from heat and allow to cool completely before eating your salted treats.
Seeds can also be roasted in the oven at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Wash and dry seeds as directed above, then spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Spray seeds with cooking spray and sprinkle evenly with salt. Allow to cool completely before eating.
