The right way to Decide a Ripe Watermelon

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

Earlier than diving into this matter, 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 fashionable watermelons are merely not what they was once. However my hope was just lately rekindled after talking with varied watermelon specialists who gave me 9 tricks to improve my probabilities of discovering the fitting one.

However first, the place to buy. 

Grocery store vs. Farm-Stand Watermelons

Whereas ripe and scrumptious watermelons might be discovered year-round in supermarkets (these are generally hybrid seedless sorts developed particularly for industrial manufacturing), most of the melons in these shops might be duds, so the percentages are stacked towards you. 

“Watermelon growers harvest hundreds of thousands of tons weekly, in order that they’re going by means of the sphere and selecting every part, not solely those which might be ripe,” says Thanh Truong, a.okay.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 might be ones which might be 85% ripe within the batch.”

Truong says the distinction in taste is big. Something beneath 80% ripe just isn’t 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 shall 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 time, however you could discover watermelons in lots of sizes (from mini to additional giant), shapes (spherical, oval, blocky, elongated), flesh colours (pink, 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 potential to discover a candy and ripe watermelon at a grocery store, you simply should be extra prudent when selecting.

9 Suggestions 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 finest.

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

And no stress or something, however selecting the correct one issues much more since watermelons don’t proceed to ripen after harvest. “It will soften, and the feel might enhance somewhat bit, however it should by no means get sweeter,” says Amy Goldman, an heirloom seed preservationist and writer of The Melon. “What you decide 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 delicate, 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 while 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 crammed 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 clue you in on any harm the watermelon has suffered. “Watermelon is an enormous bruiser and extra fragile than you suppose,” says Goldman. “I cringe after I see individuals 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 occurring behind the rind. (Nonetheless, it solely actually works with the big melons, not the minis.) Truong says you’re primarily assessing for reverb. “When a watermelon has a bruised half, the water separates from the flesh, so it absorbs sound,” says Truong. “While 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 troublesome sound to detect, and a few by no means handle to listen to the distinction. Even the professionals admit it’s fairly exhausting to evaluate. “I’ve thumped these items to the tip of the earth, and I am unable to inform the distinction,” says Perkins-Veazie.

Yellow Spot

Search for the bottom spot on the watermelon, which is the big, lighter patch on one aspect. “The spot is the place it rested on the bottom,” says Goldman. “The spot’s colour ought to be a buttery yellow, an indication the farmer picked the watermelon at most maturity.” The melon might not have had sufficient time within the area if it is white. Webbing on the spot can also be a superb 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 simple to visually affirm that the stem was brown and shriveled. Some watermelons barely have a stem left, but when they had been picked too quickly, you’ll be able to see tears alongside one aspect the place it was ripped off the vine (beneath).

Strong Striping

“Have a look at the striping sample,” says Perkins-Veazie. “Nicely-developed stripes imply it is extra prone to be ripe.” That is true of the watermelons accessible 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

“In the event you take a look at watermelons carefully, they’ve delicate ridges referred to as veins that run the size of the watermelon,” says Perkins-Veazie. If the ridges look properly 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. In the event you can’t see them clearly, really feel for them.

Heavy Weight

In line with the specialists, the watermelon that feels heaviest for its measurement is probably going the juiciest. The simplest method is to choose up a number of watermelons to match. I recommend operating by means of all the guidelines above first that can assist you weed out the watermelons price lifting.

Sugar Crystals (For Choosing Reduce Watermelon)

In the event 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 good. 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 giant and three mini  throughout three distributors (two grocery shops and one farmers market). In every occasion, I attempted to examine all of the packing containers to get the absolute best choice; I additionally picked one from every store that was lacking among the qualities to see in the event that they had been missing in sweetness or succulence. 

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

A lot of the ideas had been simple to evaluate (particularly after I paid no thoughts to the produce workers teasing me for spending 20 minutes selecting out a watermelon). The one one I discovered a bit tedious was making an attempt to gauge which of them had been “heavy for his or her measurement.” This tip is less complicated stated than accomplished with the massive watermelons. You’ll be able to’t actually decide up two without delay, 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 dimensions at checkout helped me affirm that my prized watermelon was certainly heavier than my second decide by 12 ounces. Nonetheless, in any case that, after I reduce the 2 open at dwelling, the lighter watermelon was sweeter. 

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

On the finish of the day, I used to be completely satisfied to know nice watermelons can nonetheless be discovered on the retailer, however I used to be much more elated to discover a watermelon with plenty 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 regionally!