Winter Springs, FL –National Watermelon Promotion Board’s (NWPB) annual consumer recipe contest kicked off during National Watermelon Month (July), ran for nearly six weeks and garnered more than 100 entries.
The contest challenged home cooks and chefs alike to Use the Whole Watermelon by creating recipes with Flesh, Juice and Rind and/or any combination thereof.
“Taking that leap from basic watermelon wedge to watermelon as an ingredient is becoming much more popular,” said Stephanie Barlow, Senior Director of Communications. “Not only do consumers recognize they are getting more recipes at a great value, but also that they are helping to eliminate food waste by using the whole watermelon including flesh, juice and rind.”
A common theme in this year’s contest was to replace typical ingredients with watermelon in traditional recipes. From Candied Watermelon Rind to Watermelon Steak Kabobs, using watermelon as an ingredient helps turn ordinary recipes into extraordinary.
The 2018 Use the Whole Watermelon winners are as follows:
Grand Prize
- Watermelon Rind Bruschetta Bites by Shannon Kohn (Simpsonville, S.C.)
Flesh
Watermelon Wedge Steakhouse Salad by Shauna Havey (Roy, Utah)
- Juice
Watermelon Chutney by Mireille Roc (Brooklyn, NY)
- Rind
Lemon Laced Watermelon Rind Candy by Mary Shivers (Ada, OK)
Honorable Mentions include:
- Watermelon Oat Flour Waffles (Juice) by Renata Stanko (Lebanon, OR)
- Watermelon Key Lime Sticky Rice (Juice) by Carmell Childs (Clawson, UT)
- Watermelon Guacamole Jalapeno Poppers with Spicy Watermelon Dipping Sauce (Flesh) by Hidemi Walsh (Greenfield, IN)
All the winning and honorable mentioned recipes have been added to the NWPB permanent collection on Watermelon.org under Recipes, Contest Winners.
About National Watermelon Promotion Board
The National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB), based in Winter Springs, Florida, was established in 1989 as an agricultural promotion group to promote watermelon in the United States and in various markets abroad. Funded through a self-mandated industry assessment paid by more than 1,500 watermelon producers, handlers and importers, NWPB mission is to increase consumer demand for watermelon through promotion, research and education programs.
Watermelon packs a nutritious punch with each serving providing an excellent source of vitamin C, a good source of vitamin B6 and a delicious way to stay hydrated with only 80 calories. Watermelon consumption per capita in the United States was an estimated 16.3 pounds in 2017 or approximately 5.3 billion pounds. The United States exported an additional 339.1 million pounds of watermelon. For additional information, visit www.watermelon.org.
Source: National Watermelon Promotion Board
