Tips on how to Choose a Ripe Watermelon

It’s tough to explain the style of watermelon, as a result of nothing tastes fairly prefer it. To me, a wonderfully ripe watermelon hits you first with a contemporary floral however vegetative aroma, then delivers a vibrant, fruity sugar rush upfront with a wealthy, lingering sweetness. 

Earlier than diving into this subject, I actually can’t bear in mind the final time I used to be capable of observe down the right watermelon. I’ve partly chalked it as much as dangerous luck and partly resigned myself to believing most trendy watermelons are merely not what they was once. However my hope was not too long ago rekindled after talking with numerous watermelon consultants who gave me 9 tricks to improve my probabilities of discovering the appropriate one.

However first, the place to buy. 

Grocery store vs. Farm-Stand Watermelons

Whereas ripe and scrumptious watermelons may be discovered year-round in supermarkets (these are generally hybrid seedless varieties developed particularly for business manufacturing), lots of the melons in these shops may be duds, so the percentages are stacked in opposition to you. 

“Watermelon growers harvest tens of millions of tons weekly, in order that they’re going by the sector and choosing all the things, not solely those which are ripe,” says Thanh Truong, a.ok.a. Fruit Nerd, a third-generation fruiterer who’s labored at main supermarkets and in wholesale markets.

Farmers should consider shelf life and transportation. Truong says that melons at peak ripeness would by no means survive the time and long-distance journey required to get to grocery store cabinets. “Ideally, they’re someplace between 90 to 93% mature, however there may be ones which are 85% ripe within the batch.”

Truong says the distinction in taste is gigantic. Something under 80% ripe is just not candy sufficient. “A watermelon at 91 to 92% could be very candy,” he says. “However a totally ripe watermelon grown in somebody’s yard, small farm, or market backyard can be amazingly juicy, candy, and crunchy.”

Not solely are you more likely to discover a absolutely ripe melon at your native farmstand within the peak of summer season, however it’s possible you’ll discover watermelons in lots of sizes (from mini to additional massive), shapes (spherical, oval, blocky, elongated), flesh colours (purple, pink, orange, yellow) and rind patterns (from strong to striped or speckled). Truong says watermelons discovered at native markets could be cultivated for his or her sugary flesh—not their capability to outlive a cross-country street journey.

Nonetheless, it’s doable to discover a candy and ripe watermelon at a grocery store, you simply should be extra prudent when choosing.

9 Ideas For Selecting the Finest Watermelons

Whether or not at a retailer or farmers market, watermelons with sure traits (which we’ll get to in a second) would be the better of the bunch. These qualities gained’t all the time be apparent, and a few strategies for choosing ripe ones are extra nuanced than others, so do your greatest.

“Each tip you utilize would possibly get you a 5 to 10% higher choice, however add all the ideas collectively, and ultimately you are going to have a watermelon that’s perhaps 30% higher than those actually proper subsequent to it,” says Truong.

And no strain or something, however selecting the correct one issues much more since watermelons don’t proceed to ripen after harvest. “It’s going to soften, and the feel could enhance somewhat bit, however it would by no means get sweeter,” says Amy Goldman, an heirloom seed preservationist and creator of The Melon. “What you choose is what you get.”

Matte Pores and skin

Search for a watermelon with uninteresting, waxy-looking pores and skin. “If it seems shiny, it is not ripe,” says Penelope Perkins-Veazie, PhD, a watermelon specialist and professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State College. Nonetheless, the distinction can generally be too refined, even for her, so don’t spend an excessive amount of time on this one. Whereas procuring, I seen most watermelons on the retailer seemed matte, so once you see a shiny one, just like the one pictured above,  it ought to stand out like a greased thumb, and ensure to keep away from it. 

Full Ends

“Watermelons also needs to be well-rounded, with filled-out ends,” says Goldman. “If it is not stuffed out, it means pollination was poor, and the flesh high quality suffers.”

Bouncy Sound

Tapping watermelons gained’t inform you how ripe or candy they’re, however it may possibly clue you in on any harm the watermelon has suffered. “Watermelon is a giant bruiser and extra fragile than you suppose,” says Goldman. “I cringe once I see folks piling watermelons on one another as a result of that compression damages the feel inside.”

Thumping the watermelons is an choice to get at what’s happening behind the rind. (Nonetheless, it solely actually works with the massive melons, not the minis.) Truong says you’re basically assessing for reverb. “When a watermelon has a bruised half, the water separates from the flesh, so it absorbs sound,” says Truong. “Once you faucet it, you need it to sound even and for the vibration to bounce again like a basketball.”

However to be clear, this could be a tough sound to detect, and a few by no means handle to listen to the distinction. Even the professionals admit it’s fairly onerous to evaluate. “I’ve thumped this stuff to the top of the earth, and I can not inform the distinction,” says Perkins-Veazie.

Yellow Spot

Search for the bottom spot on the watermelon, which is the massive, lighter patch on one facet. “The spot is the place it rested on the bottom,” says Goldman. “The spot’s coloration must be a buttery yellow, an indication the farmer picked the watermelon at most maturity.” The melon could not have had sufficient time within the area if it is white. Webbing on the spot can also be a wonderful signal of sweetness.

Shriveled Stem

Watermelon growers will know {that a} harvested watermelon is ripe by wanting on the calyx, which is the stem space. Truong says if the watermelon is ripe and prepared, the stem shrivels, and the melon falls off the vine, however stem tears point out that the watermelon was forcibly ripped off earlier than it absolutely ripened. Some melons have somewhat dried up stem tail nonetheless hooked up, just like the one pictured above, making it straightforward to visually verify that the stem was brown and shriveled. Some watermelons barely have a stem left, but when they had been picked too quickly, you may see tears alongside one facet the place it was ripped off the vine (under).

Stable Striping

“Have a look at the striping sample,” says Perkins-Veazie. “Effectively-developed stripes imply it is extra more likely to be ripe.” That is true of the watermelons out there to most customers, however there are heirloom varieties with out stripes, so this tip gained’t work for these. Goldman provides that if the darker inexperienced stripes comprise an excessive amount of yellow, the fruit could also be overripe.

Rugged Ridges

“When you have a look at watermelons intently, they’ve refined ridges referred to as veins that run the size of the watermelon,” says Perkins-Veazie. If the ridges look nicely prolonged (raised and protruding out—like a pomegranate, however much less showy) that is a superb indication it’s ripe. They’re undoubtedly seen in bigger melons, however not minis. When you can’t see them clearly, really feel for them.

Heavy Weight

Based on the consultants, the watermelon that feels heaviest for its measurement is probably going the juiciest. The simplest approach is to choose up a number of watermelons to check. I counsel working by all the ideas above first that will help you weed out the watermelons value lifting.

Sugar Crystals (For Choosing Lower Watermelon)

When you purchase a halved or quartered watermelon, Truong says little sugar crystals close to the seeds or false seeds is an apparent signal the watermelon is nice. Within the picture above, for instance, the flesh across the seeds seem like little geodes.

Placing the Tricks to the Take a look at

In my quest to choose the right watermelon, I bought six choices—three massive and three mini  throughout three distributors (two grocery shops and one farmers market). In every occasion, I attempted to verify all of the containers to get the absolute best choice; I additionally picked one from every store that was lacking a number of the qualities to see in the event that they had been missing in sweetness or succulence. 

Once I adopted all (or most) of the ideas collectively, I constantly picked nice watermelons. It’s true what the consultants say in that every one the ideas together with one another actually pay dividends. Once I opted to heed solely half of the ideas, the watermelon was about half nearly as good.

Many of the suggestions had been straightforward to evaluate (particularly once I paid no thoughts to the produce staff teasing me for spending 20 minutes choosing out a watermelon). The one one I discovered a bit tedious was attempting to gauge which of them had been “heavy for his or her measurement.” This tip is less complicated stated than accomplished with the large watermelons. You possibly can’t actually choose up two directly, so some muscle reminiscence is required. Mini watermelons are a lot simpler to gauge weight—simply maintain one in every hand. Goldman’s rounded-ends tip was additionally useful in deciding which melons to choose up. The size at checkout helped me verify that my prized watermelon was certainly heavier than my second choose by 12 ounces. Nonetheless, in any case that, once I minimize the 2 open at residence, the lighter watermelon was sweeter. 

All however certainly one of my melons had stunning, crisp, damage-free flesh, which implies the thumping check probably works. I’m no baller, however I’ve bounced a number of basketballs in my life, and Truong’s analogy was spot on. When tapped, a number of melons appeared to suck down the sound and vibration, whereas others sprung it again into my hand. This solely labored for the large watermelons although; I didn’t get a lot suggestions tapping mini watermelons, and alas, certainly one of my minis had compromised flesh.

On the finish of the day, I used to be glad to know nice watermelons can nonetheless be discovered on the retailer, however I used to be much more elated to discover a watermelon with a lot of crusty webbing over the bottom spot on the farmers market; it was the sweetest of the bunch. Simply one other reminder of the advantages of procuring domestically!