Watermelon is sweet because it has been selectively bred over time to increase its sugar content.
While early watermelons were bitter, with yellowish-white flesh and difficult to open, the modern watermelon is significantly sweeter and easier to consume. This transformation is due to the practice of selective breeding.
Here's a breakdown:
- Selective Breeding: Farmers and horticulturalists have chosen watermelons with desirable traits (in this case, sweetness) and used them to produce the next generation of watermelons. This process has been repeated over many generations, gradually increasing the sugar levels in the fruit.
- Natural Sugars: Watermelons naturally contain sugars like fructose, glucose, and sucrose. Selective breeding has focused on enhancing the concentration of these sugars.
- Reduced Bitterness: Wild watermelons contained compounds that made them bitter. Breeders have worked to minimize these compounds, further improving the palatability of the fruit.
Therefore, the sweetness of modern watermelons is a direct result of human intervention through selective breeding to enhance their natural sugars and reduce bitterness.
