Though yellow watermelons aren't as common as red ones, they still deserve a place at summertime snack tables, if you can find them. In addition to being colored differently, yellow watermelons differ from red ones in other ways, including flavor and nutrition, and these fruits' origins are interesting as well.

The reason why some watermelons are yellow is that they lack lycopene, an antioxidant with a red pigment found in standard watermelons. Writings from around 200 A.D. possibly indicate that all watermelons used to have yellowish-colored flesh, but their flesh turned red after farmers began breeding the melons to be less bitter.

Yellow watermelons are sweeter than red ones, and have a flavor comparable to honey. Since yellow watermelons lack lycopene, they don't offer this antioxidant's health benefits, such as fighting free radicals, but yellow melons are high in beta carotene as well as vitamins A and C, much like their red and pink brethren.