Watermelons are just starting to come into season in the warmer parts of the country. This means that farmers markets will soon resound with the drumbeat of shoppers thumping watermelons to find the most perfect picnic-worthy specimens. Do you know how to pick the best watermelon?
There's a definite art to picking the very best watermelons. It involves weighing the watermelon between your hands, turning it over, and giving it a firm thwap! on the underside. A heavy watermelon with a splotch on its belly and a hollow sound means it is brimming with juice and at the peak of its ripeness.
Buying watermelons at a farmers market takes out much of the guesswork. Farmers know their business and will only harvest watermelons for sale when they're truly ripe. When in doubt, ask the farmer to pick a melon for you. At a farmers market, you can also taste a sample and feel confident that the watermelon you take home will taste the same.
Do you have any other tips for picking the ripest watermelon from the bunch?
How to Pick a Watermelon
1. Pick It Up: Big or small, the watermelon should feel heavy for its size.
2. Look for the Yellow Spot: Watermelons develop a splotch where they rest on the ground. When this splotch is creamy yellow, it's ripe.
3. Give It a Thump: Tap the underbelly of the watermelon. A ripe one will have a deep hollow sound. Under-ripe or over-ripe melons will sound dull.
Related: How to Select the Best Produce: Fruit
(Image: Diana Taliun/Shutterstock)
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My mom used to tell me that (along with the thumping) if you ever find a watermelon with with a little crater on the end instead of a stem, it will be sweeter. This is because it fell off the vine on its own, rather than being plucked off before it was fully ripened. So, look for an "innie" instead of an "outie".
That's how I pick my watermelon, and rarely get an under ripe melon. Neither my husband or daughter like watermelon, so when I get one, I don't even have to share!
In addition to making sure it has a yellow spot, I make sure it doesn't have a stem, indicating it was picked too early.
All your methods are great, and I have another to add--ask your farmers market purveyor to pick a watermelon, or any melon, for you! You get the joy of a perfect melon, and he/she gets to know that you value and appreciate his/her expertise. :)
Do mealy watermelons mean they've been sitting around in the store too long?
I've tried thumping them but my problem is the overly squishy parts inside the fruit...I like mine on the firmer side even to the point of eating slightly under ripe ones but I haven't found a fool proof method to avoiding the unseen mush inside. The last one I bought I had to cut off about 1/5-1/4 of the fruit because of this.
Thank you! I just had the displeasure of cutting into a watermelon that was completely rotten inside. I'm guessing rotten ones would have a dull sound too.
I learned from a farmer that the best indicator is a large yellow patch on one side--it indicates it's been lying in the field on that side for a good long while, ripening & getting sweeter. Smaller patch, or white rather than yellow = picked sooner. Works for me every time.
Man, I was confused about why anyone needed help figuring out how to get a watermelon off the vine, but it makes more sense that this is less about picking watermelons and more about selecting them. Was anyone else confused about this?