We Tried 6 Ways of Storing Cut Watermelon, and the Winner Stayed Juicy and Crisp for 8 Whole Days
I live in Alabama, which means summers are hot and steamy — and absolutely no other food combats the heat and humidity the way that watermelon does. It’s juicy, crisp, sweet, and supremely hydrating. It’s safe to say that my family goes through more watermelon each summer than any other seasonal fruit. We always have one cut into, with leftovers stashed in the fridge, and an extra whole one in the cool basement as well. It’s something that I stock in a similar manner as I do paper towels or milk. I need to always have a backup so that we never run out.
Although we tend to go through our leftovers pretty quickly, there are times when we go out of town for a few days and hope to return to fruit that hasn’t gone bad. To discover which methods will keep cut watermelon in tip-top shape, I tested six different storage methods.
What’s the Best Way to Store Cut Watermelon?
You can’t beat storing your cut watermelon in an airtight glass container; it keeps the sweet fruit crisp and juicy for over a week. Even better, the reusable container works well in every fridge, as you can stack it underneath or on top of other items.
A Few Notes on Methodology
- The watermelon: I purchased a large, oblong-shaped watermelon with seeds. (These are labeled “seeded” watermelons, which to me sounds like someone has removed the seeds. When a recipe calls for a seeded jalapeño, after all … sorry, I digress.) I cut round, crosswise slices from the melon, then cut each of those into sixths, so that I ended up with tons of rind-on watermelon wedges to store using the different methods. I used eight wedges for each method.
- The storage space: For all but one method, I stored the fruit on an entire shelf in the middle of the fridge. The temperature inside my fridge was 38°F, confirmed by my refrigerator thermometer. For the one non-fridge method, the watermelon went into the middle of my freezer.
- The testing: I stored the watermelon wedges for as long as I could for each method, with one exception (the freezer method, which technically could go for up to a year or more). I checked on the watermelon every day, and I stopped any test at the point that the fruit had declined enough to where I wouldn’t eat it.
- The ratings: I judged each method on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing perfection. The main factor that I considered was longevity of freshness. To determine freshness, I first touched the watermelon to gauge its texture, and then I tasted several pieces from each batch. Also factoring into my ratings was the effectiveness of the storage vessel.
Watermelon Storage Method: Uncovered on a Plate
- Stayed fresh for: 1.5 days
- Rating: 2/10
About this method: This was the easiest method to test. I simply placed eight wedges onto a plate. They didn’t fit in a single layer, so I arranged the top layer of slices so that they weren’t directly on top of the ones on the bottom layer to allow for some airflow.
Results: At the one-day point, the fruit felt a little tacky to the touch but still remained crisp and sweet, so I let it go another day. On day two, the wedges were leathery and tough on the exterior. Biting in, they had lost their crispness and felt limp, and they tasted stale — as if they had picked up ambient flavors from the fridge’s interior.
Watermelon Storage Method: Freezer
- Stayed fresh for: 6 to 8 months, or longer
- Rating: 4/10
About this method: To test this method, I arranged watermelon wedges in a single layer inside a large zipper-top freezer bag, squeezed out all the excess air, sealed the bag, then arranged it flat in the center of my freezer. I allowed the watermelon to freeze for two full days before tasting.
Results: Truthfully, the results depend on the way you plan to use the watermelon. Because I was testing everything else here in terms of eating out of hand, that’s the way I judged this storage method. (Now, if you’re planning to blend frozen watermelon into, say, a watermelon margarita, the rating would skew much higher.) Straight out of the freezer, the watermelon was, as expected, quite hard. Because the water content is so high, each wedge was basically a block of ice. But you could gnaw away at them to chip off little bites, and the effect was quite cooling and refreshing.
The flavor, though, was transformed into something a little different. It tasted like watermelon flavoring, like candy, which many folks would love but which I found off-putting. I’m not sure why the taste skewed toward artificial, but I tasted alongside fresh fruit and there was a marked difference in flavor. I tried thawing the fruit and, as expected once again, the texture was rather unpleasant — squishy and slimy. Again, if you’re planning to make a frozen beverage or make watermelon sherbet, this method would be great. But for snacking, not so much.
Watermelon Storage Method: In a Colander, Covered, and Placed in a Bowl
- Stayed fresh for: 3 days
- Rating: 5/10
About this method: To test this technique, I arranged watermelon wedges up the sides of a colander (instead of piling them on top of each other), covered the colander with plastic wrap, and placed it inside a large bowl. I then placed the bowl on a shelf in the middle of my refrigerator.
Results: The watermelon held up well for a couple of days, but on day three the texture had deteriorated. I noticed that there was a little bit of watermelon liquid pooling in the bottom of the bowl; I measured it, and it was roughly two teaspoons. Some of the moisture had drained out, and that was evident in the texture; the wedges were squishy all throughout, and the exterior was wrinkled and leathery. There were a couple of brown spots on the rind as well. The contraption also took up a lot of space in my fridge. That would have been fine if the results seemed to warrant it, but they did not.
Watermelon Storage Method: In a Closed Zip-Top Bag
- Stayed fresh for: 8 days
- Rating: 8/10
About this method: For this method, I arranged the wedges in as much of a single layer inside a large zipper-top bag as I could, overlapping slightly to fit the eight pieces. I then placed the bag flat on a shelf in the middle of my refrigerator.
Results: The top three methods, including this one, performed identically well at preserving the fruit for an extended amount of time. For this one, at the eight-day mark, the watermelon was still crisp, sweet, and in great shape. I stored it for a day longer, and on day nine, the fruit had a slightly slimy texture. That said, the difference in my ratings comes down to the actual storage method or vessel. Plastic bags are not my favorite, as I try to use less plastic in my life in general. Also, the floppy, flimsy package was a bit annoying, frankly; I would have preferred more rigidity in the container.
Watermelon Storage Method: On a Plate, Wrapped in Plastic Wrap
- Stayed fresh for: 8 days
- Rating: 9/10
About this method: For this method, I arranged the watermelon wedges in the exact same way described in the first method reviewed (on a plate, uncovered). The only difference is that I tightly covered the plate with plastic wrap.
Results: As noted above, this method kept the watermelon in pristine shape for eight full days. I liked this method a bit more than the plastic bag method above for two main reasons: It uses a little less plastic, and the rigidity of the plate worked better than the flimsy bag. Because of the low profile, you could stack the plate on top of another flat container if you need to for fridge space — but the downside is that you wouldn’t be able to stack anything else on top.
Watermelon Storage Method: In an Airtight Glass Container
- Stayed fresh for: 8 days
- Rating: 10/10
About this method: I arranged eight watermelon wedges into an airtight glass container, arranging the wedges at different angles so the slices weren’t lying directly on top of each other. I then placed the container on a middle shelf in my refrigerator.
Results: This method, like the previous two, kept the watermelon wedges in great shape for eight full days. The fruit was crisp, juicy, and full-flavored. The flesh and rind showed no signs of spoilage until the ninth day, when the flesh felt a bit slimy.
So why did this method take the top spot? First, I love a glass container for its near-infinite reusability. This is the type of storage container I much prefer, and I have several sizes I can always choose from. Next, I am constantly jockeying for space in my refrigerator, playing fridge Tetris to fit everything I need to fit. The idea that I could seal up the watermelon and stack stuff underneath or on top of this container made it the most appealing for me. True, the fruit stayed exactly as fresh for exactly the same amount of time as the two methods ranked just below this one, but the convenience factor shot this one to the top.
Overall Key Takeaways
- Choose your container wisely. Watermelon has a very open, porous texture, so it will absorb tastes and smells from the fridge. That’s why it’s best to store it in a closed container. Not only will an airtight vessel prevent the fruit from picking up off flavors, but it also proves to keep the texture in great shape for at least a full week. Your choice of airtight container will depend on your own preferences, as well as what equipment you tend to keep on hand in your kitchen. For me, it’s a rigid glass container all the way.
- For long-term storage, the freezer is a good option. If you have more watermelon than you can get through in a week, the freezer is a great option. The texture will never fully bounce back, and you won’t be able to use frozen watermelon for raw preparations, but it will still be great for summery cocktails, Popsicles, and frozen desserts.