Unless you particularly enjoy eating unripe pineapple, few things are more disappointing than bringing home a tasteless watermelon. Learn how to choose a watermelon that is completely ripe from the bunch to avoid ever having to suffer the remorse of wasting one. To ensure that you always leave the grocery store with the flavorful and sweetest melon, a few simple visual and aural (yes, really) indicators are all that are required.
Look at the Stripes
Your watermelon’s coloring helps to indicate the fruit’s ripeness. A melon with a strong, consistent stripe pattern is what you should choose. The green stripes should be a deep, dark green, and the yellow stripes should be a creamy, light yellow. You should also select a watermelon that is not particularly attractive. Underripe melon is likely quite shiny.
Find the field spot
The field spot of the watermelon is probably one of the most important indicators of the watermelon’s quality. A watermelon’s “field spot,” a huge discolored area on its surface, may be easily identified with a visual inspection. The watermelon sat on the ground as it ripened, as evidenced by this marking. A melon with a hue that is either a creamy yellow or very close to orange has a lot of taste. Choose another one if it’s white or light yellow. Lack of taste may be to blame for the watermelon’s white blotches on the field.
Inspect the stem
You can tell if a watermelon has ripened properly by looking at its stem; a ripe watermelon will have a dry, yellow-brown stem. If the watermelon’s stem is green, it may not be fully ripe and hence tasteless and bland.
Knock on it
Knocking on your watermelon may help you select the best one, despite the fact that your fellow grocery shoppers could shoot you an inquisitive glance. Listen to the sound your fruit makes after giving it a light tap. The fruit has more water and is probably riper if the pitch is deep and hollow. By contrast, if your knock sounds higher-pitched and heavier, it may signify that your skin is too thick and your fruit has not yet fully ripened to its optimal state.
See if there are spots
Dry weathering areas and webbing lines that resemble veins are excellent indicators of a watermelon that is exceptionally delicious. There is evidence of sugar leaking from the fruit in these locations. Before settling on a melon, it’s important to examine it from all angles.
Choose the heaviest one for its size
While you shop and lift watermelons at the grocery store to get the best one, get a quick workout in. They ought to have more heft than they appear to when elevated. Watermelon with a higher water content is sweeter because it is denser relative to its size.
Select a rounder shape
You should seek out a watermelon that is more uniformly spherical in shape rather than oval. Melons with a greater degree of roundness tend to be sweeter than those with a greater degree of ovalness, which tend to be more watery and less delicious. Look for any bumps or other irregularities on the surface and avoid them as well.
Buy when they’re in season
The best time to buy watermelon is during its peak season, which runs from May through September. Grab the best melons you can find and cool off with one of these delicious dishes made with watermelon.
