Watermelon Time

We got back from the grocery store and are just about to sit back to enjoy a big bowl of fresh fruits when we got inspired.  In other words, this is going to be long. 

We love fresh fruits. As it is summer, there’s not much like a big juicy watermelon. Emily and I will normally go through one in a day (2 days at most) so we have to limit the times we buy watermelons.

It never fails.  Every time we’re picking out watermelons, someone next to us asks, “how do know which one’s ripe?” The fact is, it’s rather difficult to pick out good melons. But there are tricks that I use to facilitate the process.

Don’t feel like reading all of this?  Skip straight to step #5.

This is easy when you’re buying from a street vendor. You just ask the merchant to pick one out for you. Most of the time, they’ll pick out a good one because they know their crop and they want you to come back… and recommend friends. Sometimes I would ask them their shop schedule. I’d tell them that if it’s good, I’ll return to buy a few more.  With the rate that we go through melons, it doesn’t take long before we’d return for more.  Of course this doesn’t always work as sometimes the person selling them to you are hired hands or relatives who don’t actually have much experience in identifying the good melons from the rest.  Or in the case of my last experience, the merchant relied on his 3 year old daughter to choose for him.  She was very cute but it was the worse melon we’ve had in a long time. 

In a large grocery store, you’re left to fend for yourself most of the time. There’s no doubt that someone has told you to thump the melon. You’re supposed to hear a thump or a thud. One is better. I don’t know about you but I never remember which I’m supposed to listen for. This trick has never worked for me. However, there are other things I look for when picking out a watermelon. It’s not an exact science but here’s what I look for.

1. Does it have seeds?

   I know that many people love seedless watermelons but I don’t prefer them. Don’t get me wrong.  I like them fine.  I just like the regular watermelons with seeds better. I’ve never found a seedless watermelon to be as good as a good regular watermelon can be. Unless you’re making watermelon balls for an upcoming shower, seed is the way I’d go. If you get a good one, you’ll be rewarded with a sweeter melon than any seedless can be.  I think it’s worth the gamble.

2. How does it look?

   Is it well formed? Is the overall shape symmetrical? Are the patterns/lines spanning somewhat evenly from one end to the other and bright in color? Does it have a light “belly” on one side? Is the stem dry, clean, and hollow?  If you scratch it with your fingernail, does the rind come off easily?  You want to be able to answer “yes” to all of these questions. You also don’t want a melon with any punctures or bruises. Any penetration through the surface allows bacteria to get in. It only requires one puncture wound to spoil the entire melon. Unlike cheese, with fruit, you can’t just can’t just cut off that bad part.

   So what about that light yellowish spot?
   Although this is actually a blemish to the surface of the melon, it tells you a little history about the melon.  It tells you that the melon was heavy at one point. It had time to sit and dig into the ground.  That light yellow, and somewhat flatter, spot shows that it sat, grew, and had time to ripen on soft dirt.  Watermelons without the lighter belly may have been picked too early, did not receive a proper nourishment, or has been tampered with often while it was growing. Of course, the smaller the melon breed, the less prominent the belly would be since they would naturally be lighter.  The light belly spot is usually a good thing as long as it’s not soft or damp to the touch. You don’t want any spot of the melon to be soft.

3. How does it feel?

   It’s a watermelon, it should contain a lot of water. As water is extremely heavy, so should be your watermelon.  If you find it to be a good bit heavier than it looks, that’s a good thing.

4. What about the sound?

   OK so the flat, light belly tells you that it was ripened on the vine while sitting on flat ground. The weight tells you if it is still juicy. The bright color tells you it received a good amount of sun. The dried, hollow stem tells you that it was was not cut too early. But what about texture? It could be ripe but am overripe, mealy melon is no good.

   **I don’t recommend doing this at a farmer’s market or street vendor. At a large grocery store, break loose and go wild. Most likely they won’t know what you’re doing. Just make picking out the watermelon the last thing you do so you’re practically on your way out anyways.

   Place the watermelon on the ground in front of you with one end pointing forward and away from you… the melon should be parallel to your feet. Crouch over it as if you’re about to hike the melon-football. Place both palms on to the center of the melon, ends of your palms together, and fingers fanned out to the sides. Are you still with me? Now do a sharp and short pump straight down on the melon. You’ll hear and feel one of two things… a crisp “snap” or a gritty “crush”. That’s tells you the texture of the melon. The snap (or pop) sound is what you want. It tells you that the watermelon flesh is dense and tight. The alternative, a crushing sound, tells you that the melon is mealy.  If you were to cut the latter melon open at that point, you’ll find that the insides literally crushed under that pressure.  This is why I don’t recommend doing this when buying from a local farmer’s.  They might get mad at you.  For a big box grocery store… well they shouldn’t be selling an old gritty melon anyways. 

   OK so that’s not all. There are a few flaws to step 4. One of them being that if someone had already tested the melon this way before you, you won’t hear a pop or a crush sound. If the melon is too small, you may hear or feel it either. Maybe you don’t want to look like you’re playing with a watermelon in the middle of the grocery store. Or maybe you don’t want to go around crushing watermelons all day. Read on…

5. So can I thump it?

   Give it a good slap.  The sound you’re listening for is a hollow one.  This may be difficult to identify so just take 3-4 melons and give them each a good whack with your palm to compare.  You want to one that sounds hollow and echo-y.  Still don’t know what you’re listening for?  Balance the melon on one hand when you do this thump test.  If you thump it lightly with one hand, you should be able to feel relatively strong vibrations in the other.  This tells you that the melon is solid enough for the vibrations to resonate through the melon.  That’s a good thing.

That’s it!   There are many different ways to pick out different melons but these are the things I look for when choose a watermelon.  If you do try this method out, tell me how it goes. If you have any other tips, I’d like to hear of it too. Good hunting.