Even Hippocrates, the ancient Greek father of medicine, was apparently a watermelon fan, prescribing the fruit as a diuretic. (He also suggested treating children with heat stroke by placing cool, wet rinds on their brows.) But the good doctor had nothing to say about watermelon as food. That could be because watermelons of his era were still at least as bitter as an overgrown cucumber. A half millennium would elapse before farmers were raising the sweet modern watermelon.

But the Greeks made up for lost time. One of the quintessential summer delights of Greek cuisine is some variation of watermelon salad. There are really only three essential elements: pieces of watermelon, mint leaves, and crumbled feta cheese. Personally, we like to add cubed pieces of peeled cucumber, peeled cherry tomatoes, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. The proportions are almost irrelevant, especially when it’s 97° in the shade and you have no desire to cook.