How to Pick a Watermelon? [Top 15 Steps]

July 16, 2022

Last Updated date: July 16, 2022

How to pick a watermelon? We are sure you are searching on internet to find answer of this question. You are not only the one who has ever wondered how to pick a watermelon. If you know some tips and tricks and know what four key things to look for, you can always make a good choice that is sweet and ripe. You can always get the juiciest and tastiest watermelons and never cut with regret again.

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Few things are worse than coming home with a tasteless watermelon or maybe eating an unripe pineapple, depending on how you like your food. Learn how to pick the ripest watermelon from the bunch so you never have to feel bad about throwing one away again. You only need a few simple visual and audible (yes, really!) signs to make sure you always leave the store with the sweetest and most flavorful melon.

Many people ask us how to pick a watermelon that is ripe and sweet. Here are a few tips on how to always choose the best watermelon.

How to Buy Watermelon?

The first thing you should do to keep your watermelon fresh is to buy a good one. No matter what size or number of seeds you want, you want a firm-skinned watermelon. If you can stick your finger in it, it doesn’t work. Try to find a watermelon without any dents or cuts, which can also cause it to ripen too quickly.

Your watermelon should sound hollow when you tap it, like a drum. That means tasty fruit and juice are waiting to get out.

4 Features that Help Pick a Good Watermelon

Shape: The best watermelon is the “female,” which is round and beautiful. This means that it got the same amount of water at the same time as it grew.

Melons with strange lumps, bumps, or that are bigger on one side than the other may have been through times of drought or too much water.

“Male” watermelons that are oblong or oval are usually more watery and not nearly as sweet and flavorful.

Size: Just go ahead and take it. When you pick it up, you want the weight of the watermelon to almost surprise you.

This means that the inside of the fruit is very dense and full of sweet juice with many flavors.

Spot: Find the spot on the ground. At first glance, you might want to choose the melon that is really pretty and has no spots.

But don’t be fooled by them. The best and most ripe watermelons have a big ground spot that is creamy yellow or light orange.

This mark on the bottom of the watermelon shows that it sat on the ground and ripened on its own before it was picked from the vine.

Sound: Try tapping it. When you knock on a ripe watermelon, it will make a hollow, deep sound.

If the melon isn’t ready yet, tapping it will make a dull, flat sound.

How to Pick a Watermelon?

Follow those steps on how to pick a watermelon below. These will help you pick a good watermelon:

1. Look at the stripes

The color of your watermelon can help you figure out when it’s ready to eat. You should choose a melon with stripes that are strong and even. The green stripes should be a deep, dark green, and the white stripes should be a creamy, light yellow. Also, you might want to choose a watermelon that doesn’t look very appealing.

2. Find the field spot

The field spot on the watermelon is probably one of the most important ways to tell how good it is. Find a large, discolored spot on the surface of your watermelon. This is called the “field spot”. This mark shows where the watermelon was when it was ripening. As a general rule, the color should be creamy yellow or very close to orange, which means the melon has a lot of flavors. If it’s a white or pale yellow, you might want to pick a different one. White spots on the watermelon suggest that it doesn’t taste very good.

3. Inspect the stem

You can tell if a watermelon is ripe and ready to eat by looking at its stem, which should be dry and yellow-brown in color. A green stem could mean that the watermelon isn’t ripe yet and won’t be sweet or flavorful.

4. Knock on it

Even if other people in the store look at you funny when you knock on a watermelon, it may help you choose the best one. First, gently tap your fruit and listen to what it sounds like. If the sound is low and hollow, the fruit probably has more water and is ready to eat. If your knock is louder and higher-pitched, on the other hand, it could mean that your rind is too thick or that your fruit isn’t fully ripe. You must follow the steps on how to pick a watermelon.

5. See if there are spots

A watermelon that has dry spots and lines that look like veins is likely to be extra sweet. These spots show where the fruit’s sugar has leaked out. So, make sure to look at your melon from all sides before you choose one.

6. Choose the heaviest one for its size

Lift the watermelons at the store to find the best one. This will give you a quick workout while you shop. They should feel heavier when lifted than they look. The sweeter the watermelon, the more water it has and the denser it is for its size.

7. Select a rounder shape

Instead of an oval-shaped watermelon, look for one that is rounder and more even. The melons that are more round are sweeter, while the ones that are more oval tend to be watery and not as tasty. Also, check the surface for any bumps that don’t look right and stay away from those as well.

8. Pick a Watermelon when they’re in season

Even though you might want to eat watermelon all year long, the best time to buy it is between May and September, when it is at its best. Now you’re ready to pick the best of the best watermelon recipes and try one of them.

9. Look for a consistent shape

Look for a watermelon that is firm and symmetrical, with no bumps, cuts, or dents. If the watermelon has lumps or bumps, this could mean that it got too much or too little sun or water while it was growing, making it dry or uneven.

10. Lift the watermelon up

The watermelon should be hefty for its size since this shows that it is ripe and full of water. Try weighing your watermelon next to one that is the same size; the heavier one will be riper. The majority of fruits and vegetables should follow this recommendation.

11. Examine the color

The hue of a perfectly ripe watermelon should be dark green, and it should not be shiny. A watermelon that is glossy is typically not ripe.

12. Know what to look for when selecting pre-cut melon

There are also certain things to watch out for when purchasing watermelon that has already been chopped. Pick chunks with brilliant red meat and seeds that are either dark brown or black. Avoid any pieces that have a lot of white seeds or white streaks. Additionally, avoid the flesh if it appears dried out, mealy, or if it is separating from the seeds.

13. Nice Oval Shape

A watermelon with a consistent shape indicates that it received just the right amount of water and sunlight.

14. White scars and bee stings

Look out for these tiny creatures. These tiny traces demonstrate how tasty it is—even bees were attempting to enter the container. On the melon, the stings appear as brown lines or spots.
Scratch some of the green skin to release the sweet aroma. A delicious aroma ought to be detectable through the melon’s rind.

15. Tendril

You won’t find tendrils on most watermelons at the grocery store, but if you choose one from a farmers market or are fortunate enough to have one growing in your garden, look for the curling tendril that connects the melon to the vine. Drying the tendril is necessary. The melon is not ripe if the stem is still green.

How to Pick a Watermelon at the Grocery Store?

If you’ve ever looked at a pile of watermelons and had no idea which one to pick because they all look the same, you’re not the only one. Finding a good watermelon takes a little detective work, but it’s quick and easy. I promise. When picking a watermelon, you want to touch, look at, and listen to it. Here’s how to pick a watermelon and what you need to do.

1. Pick it up: Whether the watermelon is big or small, it should feel heavy for its size.

2. Look for the yellow spot: When a watermelon sits on the ground, it gets a spot. This spot is ready when it turns a creamy yellow color.

3. Give it a thump: Tap the watermelon on the bottom. When it’s ready, it will make a deep, hollow sound. This means it’s full of juice and at its best. Melons that are too young or too old won’t sound good.

How to Store Watermelon?

If you’re not going to eat your watermelon right away, put it on the counter, but keep it out of the direct sun. The USDA says that to keep nutrients and flavor in melons, they should be kept at room temperature. Fresh watermelon can stay on the counter for one to two weeks if it’s cool inside or the weather is nice. The Watermelon Board says that 55 degrees are the best temperature for storing a whole watermelon.

Don’t worry if your watermelon is ready but you don’t have time to eat it. But also don’t cut. Put the whole watermelon in the refrigerator, and it will stay fresh for another two to three weeks. The process of ripening will take longer because the fridge is cool.

Can You Freeze Watermelon?

You can freeze watermelon, but you shouldn’t do it with the whole fruit. If you put a whole watermelon in the freezer, it will get dirty, you won’t be able to cut it until it’s defrosted (at which point it will be very mushy), and, depending on how much juice it has, it may even burst in your freezer!

Still, freezing watermelon can make it taste really good and is a great way to keep food from going to waste. Watermelon that has been frozen will stay fresh for about a year in the freezer. Follow these steps to freeze watermelon right:

The melon should be cut into small pieces. The best shapes are balls or cubes because they are easy to use in different dishes.
Get rid of the seeds.
Make sure the watermelon pieces don’t touch each other when you put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Flash-freeze the pieces by putting the tray in the freezer for a few hours. When they are firm, you will know they are frozen.
Move the watermelon chunks to a container or bag that can go in the freezer, write the date on it, and put it in the freezer.

You can still eat these watermelon pieces, but you can also use them to make cold summer drinks like sparkling water, lemonade, or seasonal cocktails. If you want a cool treat, you can juice your watermelon and then freeze it in popsicle molds. You can also use frozen watermelon to make tasty smoothies or cocktails.

Other Tips And Tricks for Pick a Watermelon

If you can’t decide between two good watermelons. you can also look for the following step for learning how to pick a watermelon:

Stripes: The dark and light stripes on the melon should be very different from each other.

Webbing: The fruit will be sweeter and riper if it has more webs or scars. During the flower’s growth, bees pollinated it, leaving these brown marks.

Stem: Look for the area around the stem to be a little depressed and dry. If you see this, it means the fruit fell off the vine on its own instead of being picked before it was fully ripe.

Color: If a watermelon is darker in color, it has had more time to ripen on the vine and will have sweeter juice as a result.

How to spot a damaged or spoiled watermelon

If a watermelon is broken or smells bad, it might not be safe to eat.

The following signs may help you decide if you should avoid a watermelon (6, 10):

Dark-colored spots. These spots could mean that fungus or bacteria are growing on the skin.
Water-soaked flesh. In this case, the watermelon flesh starts to fall apart, sag, and turn dark. It might be because there is too much water or fungal infection.
Target cluster. They look like targets and are thought to be caused by a virus.
Rind worm injury. This damage shows up as an irregular pattern of white to light brown spots on the rind. It may be caused by insects eating the fruit.
Internal rind spots. This is a bacterial disease that causes the inside of the rind to become dry and tan or brown.
Sour or tangy smell. There are different kinds of sour smells that mean the flesh has started to go bad.

Conclusion

It can be hard to find a sweet, ripe watermelon. The only sure signs that watermelon is ready are a sweet taste and red flesh.

But there are some outside signs that can help you tell the ripe ones from the unripe, overripe, or bad ones. These include how much the melon weighs, how it sounds, and how the rind looks.

Frequently Asked Questions about How to Pick a Watermelon

How do you pick a good watermelon?

To choose a good watermelon, remember the “4 S’s”: shape, size, spot, and sound. Look for a melon that is heavy, round, has a creamy yellow spot that you can see, and makes a deep sound when you tap it.

Do watermelons ripen on their own after being picked?

No, watermelons only ripen on the plant, so you have to know how to choose the best one at the store.

What color watermelon is the sweetest?

Most of the time, darker watermelons are sweeter because they had more time to ripen on the vine.

What do the stripes on a watermelon mean?

The “belly spot” on a ripe watermelon will be white or yellow. If you can see the stripes through the spot on the belly, it might not be ready yet.” Most of the time, good fruit will have a smooth rind. “You might want to stay away from melons that are too lumpy,” said Egel.

Should I pick Darker or lighter watermelon?

The better the patch is, the bigger and darker it is. The green color of watermelons should be darker. If a watermelon is very light, it may not have been on the vine long enough to ripen. The watermen’s stripes should be a mix of dark and light ones.

How long does a watermelon take to ripen?

Most watermelons are ready to eat after about two weeks. As soon as one melon is ready, the others won’t be far behind. About a week before a melon is ready, water it only when the vines start to wilt. By taking away the water, the sugars in the fruit become more concentrated.

Can I pick and ripen a watermelon once it has been cut?

Ambrose Webb 0. Watermelon doesn’t get riper after it’s picked, but if it’s picked when it’s a little too ripe, it might get mushy in the fridge before it’s even cut. Watermelons that haven’t been cut can be kept for up to three weeks in a warm, dry place.

Why is my picking watermelon white inside?

Whiteheart is a disease that can happen to a watermelon in its last stages of growth. When this happens, white lines show up all over the flesh of the melon.

Is watermelon good for you?

It has a lot of water and nutrients like lycopene, citrulline, and vitamins A and C. Studies suggest that this sweet, red melon may even improve heart health, reduce muscle pain, and lower inflammation, but more research is needed.

When should you avoid eating watermelon?

It is not a good idea to eat watermelons at night before going to sleep “I don’t think you should eat watermelon or any other fruit after 7 pm. Watermelon is a little bit acidic, and if you eat it at night, when your body is resting, it could make digestion take longer.

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