When you consider that a watermelon is 92% water, it’s no wonder the fruit is a bona fide staple during the hottest months of the year. But not every melon is as tasty as it is hydrating: All too often you bite into a slice only to discover that the inside is mealy, bland, and decidedly unappetizing.
Odds are you’ve been catfished like this before. So how do you prevent it from happening again? Pinpointing a tasty melon might seem like a magic trick or delicate agricultural art, but there are actually some easy ways to pick a good one so you don’t waste your money—and you can experience all of its refreshing, antioxidant-packed goodness without having to choke down a dud. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Rounder is better…
Melons come in all different shapes and sizes—some are small, some big, some oblong, some spherical—but the “nice and fat” ones are probably going to be your best bet, Lee Wroten, a Georgia-based watermelon farmer and the current president of the National Watermelon Promotion Board, tells SELF. “If they’re real long and real skinny, they haven’t been given time on the vine to plump up and really fill out and reach their full maturity,” he says.
2. …And so is heavier.
In terms of weight, choose melons that are heavy and dense for their size. “If you want to be scientific, pick out two similar-size watermelons and weigh them on the grocery store scale,” Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, RD, a professor and extension specialist at North Dakota State University, tells SELF. Heaviness, she notes, is a strong indicator of juiciness—and who wants a dry melon?
3. Look for bruises, scars, and other blemishes.
Next, look over the rind to make sure it’s not too dirty or damaged, according to Wroten and Dr. Garden-Robinson. While small nicks and scrapes won’t affect the quality of the flesh, Wroten says, a “nice, clean watermelon” inspires more confidence than a beat-up one—and a heavily bruised melon could be softer and mushier at the bad sites. (If you do happen to buy a melon with some bruising, it’s not the end of the world. As with an apple, you can always slice around the bad spots, Wroten points out.)
4. Check the color on the bottom.
You know that off-color patch on the bottom of a watermelon? Well, it has a name—the field spot—and its hue is a reliable determinant of ripeness, according to Wroten.
Basically, the field spot refers to the melon’s point of contact with the ground while it was attached to the vine. Yellow field spots indicate the fruit “ripened in the field,” Dr. Garden-Robinson says. By the same token, white field spots suggest “the melon wasn’t allowed to mature on the vine,” Wroten says. And an immature or underripe melon is less likely to taste good.
5. Give it a good knock or two.
Every watermelon that passes on the conveyor belt during the packaging and grading process at Wroten’s farm gets “thumped,” he says. And for good reason: The resulting sound can tell you a lot about the melon, including whether it’s solid on the inside or not.
When you smack a watermelon with the palm of your hand, listen for a nice “ping.” If you hear a weak, dull thud instead—“sort of like you’re hitting a piece of wood,” Wroten says—be wary. No matter how perfect the melon looks on the outside, that sound could indicate a flaw like bruising, overripeness, or hollowness.
Watermelons can actually develop a condition called hollow heart, which often causes the flesh to split apart into three sections. In particularly bad cases, Wroten says, the fruit “might look like a Mercedes-Benz symbol” on the inside. However, he doesn’t hesitate to dig into a melon that turns out to be hollow: Even though the cracks “certainly aren’t appealing,” Wroten says, they shouldn’t cause any real difference in the melon’s flavor or texture, though its flesh could be less abundant and a little stringy or dry. Still, if you’re looking for a perfect presentation, you might want to pick a different one.
Here’s how to put it all together.
Seem like a lot to remember? If you’re worried you’ll have trouble recalling all these tips when you’re standing before a mountain of melons at the supermarket, Wroten has a handy mnemonic device at the ready: “Look, lift, and turn.” Look for a nice round shape without major flaws; lift to gauge its density; and turn it to check out that field spot. Keep this mantra in mind and you could end up taking home the best watermelon of your life.
But you’re not quite done once you’ve chosen that majestic melon: You need to prep it the right way to make the most of it. Basic food safety guidelines apply here, including one you might not think of. Before cutting into your melon, make sure to wash the outside, Dr. Garden-Robinson says. Even though you won’t be eating the rind, it’s still a vital step to reduce your risk of food poisoning because your knife can transfer bacteria from that tough exterior to the soft fruit inside when you’re cutting it, according to the USDA.
Then make sure you polish it off within five days: Long storage could cause “some loss in flavor and quality,” Dr. Garden-Robinson says. Cover leftovers in your fridge so they don’t dehydrate or absorb the flavor from other foods. And if you’re in search of creative ways to integrate watermelon into your next cookout (even the tastiest fruit salads and smoothies get old after a while), here are a few ideas.
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