what you should know
Brundidge, Alabama. 1950. When the watermelon trucks stopped at the traffic light in town, Chip's dad would climb up into the back and drop a melon down to friends.

They would run the fruit out of sight, strike it on the hot pavement, and then -- as the poet Charles Simic described the act of eating watermelon -- "eat the smile and spit out the teeth."

toothless The popularity of seedless watermelon took some of the teeth out. Though it has a long association with the American South, watermelon is loved all over the world for its quenching, sweet flesh. In Japan, they've even developed square watermelon to satisfy demand and fit a small fridge.

look for scuffs When buying a whole watermelon (or stealing one off a truck), look for one with a flat, yellowish-brown side. That's a sign that the melon has sat for a long time on the ground while ripening. Another way to check for ripeness? Slap the melon.

waterlalala If you're ever stuck in a sing-a-long but don't know the words, just mouth the word "watermelon" over and over again. Works every time.

what you need

• Instead of a melon baller, we use a larger OXO cookie scoop to carve out rounds of ripe watermelon.
• For the modern lowdown on the food of the South, turn to John T. Edge. He's the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, a contributor to Gourmet and a guest food editor at the Oxford American. His most recent book is the Southern Belly.
• We love to drink watermelon margaritas, martinis and agua frescas out of these acrylic goblets.
  

what you do

• "What grows together goes together" is the rule behind this watemelon salad with arugula, walnuts and ricotta salata. It's from Efisio Farris' Sweet Myrtle & Bitter Honey.
• Have you made watermelon pizza? If not, try it this weekend.

• Watermelon basil agua fresca, from Coconut & Lime, is made for stifling days and food off the grill.

• Speaking of the grill, while it's burning, throw some wedges on to make this grilled watermelon salad.
• Featured recipe: Combine cool watermelon and hot peppers, and you end up with refreshing watermelon gazpacho. The recipe comes from FoodieTots, and is the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge. 

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