Have you brought home a watermelon that looked great but tasted like water? There are several proven tricks to recognize a really ripe and sweet fruit already in the store. You just need to know what to focus on – from the color of the field spot to the sound when tapped. Take a look.
Summer is fast approaching and most people can’t wait. In short, the season of refreshing summer fruits, relaxation and well-being is something that everyone needs now. And probably no one can imagine a summer without a really juicy one. However, many people rely only on its size and skin color when buying a watermelon. However, when they bring it home, they find out that it is not sweet, there is too much water in it, and that its best days are already behind it. Don’t worry, there are a few simple tricks that will make it easy to tell which watermelon is ripe before you even bring it home.
How to recognize a ripe watermelon
The first clue by which you will know that a watermelon is ripe and will be nicely sweet and juicy is the so-called field spot. This is where the watermelon lay while it ripened on the ground. When you look at the watermelons on the shelf and you are not sure about anything, simply look for a spot with a creamy yellow to golden color. This is a sign that the fruit has had enough time to ripen in the sun. If this spot was white or very light, it is a sign that the melon was harvested too early, and its taste will not be as strong and sweet.
You may have noticed that some people tap the fruit when choosing a watermelon. Even this technique, no matter how strange it may seem, can tell you if the watermelon in question is good. A ripe watermelon makes a deeper, hollow sound when tapped. When the fruits are unripe, they will make a sharper and higher pitched sound. It’s definitely not a bulletproof way to tell if a watermelon is ripe, but it can help you make uncertain choices when combined with other techniques.
The third sign that can tell you the condition of the watermelon you are about to buy is the rind. Ripe melons usually have a duller surface. If you see that the skin of the watermelon is shiny, it may indicate that the fruit is not yet fully ripe. Also focus on whether the peel is not damaged. If you find cracks on it, for example, or it is soft to the touch, you should look for another candidate.
Pay attention to the shape as well
If it is sweet and juicy, it should have a regular, relatively symmetrical shape without any significant deformations. Uneven fruits indicate that they may have suffered from a lack of water, nutrients or were exposed to other stressful conditions during ripening. A watermelon doesn’t have to be round to be tasty, it can be oblongbut symmetry can tell you if something was missing in the maturation process.
