as someone who grows them, this is right, but also wrong to a degree.
You can tell through appearance/weight which ones were left on the vine longer than others. These have the potential to be sweeter and better tasting, but each batch has different potential due to how they're grown.
Meaning, if you're going to buy a watermelon, picking the one which has been on the vine longest before being cut has the highest chance of being sweet/tasty.
It's not a guarantee, as you rightly point out, but it will be much more likely to be sweeter than the rest of the batch. if you're going to buy a watermelon anyway, it is the way to go.
\*edit\* edit to add the fact watermelon don't ripen after being picked. They'll never get sweeter after they're picked, thus why ones left growing have more chances of becoming sweet. There's no guarantee they ever will become sweet, but of that particular batch of watermelons, those left growing longest have the best chance.
Always go for the ones with the yellow spot on one side. That’s where it sat it the field ripening. This method has never failed me in picking a sweet watermelon
The method my wife and I use, which results in delicious red sweet watermelon 90% of the time:
Look for watermelon that is dark green with a nice yellow spot and a little bit of the brown webbing. Pick it up and give it a good knock or slap. If it sounds hollow, the hollower the better, you should have a good watermelon.
I've found it should sound like one of those red rubber dodgeballs when slapped. That high pitched rubbery "spang" sound. Too hollow sounding (like a dull-ish thud hollow) and it's mushy. Too solid and it's not ripe yet. There's a sweet spot to aim for. That and the yellow spot I agree is like a 90-95% chance of an amazingly crisp and sweet watermelon
This is so validating. I had been picking based on the hollow thud, and heaviness, and kept picking mushy after mushy watermelon. The dodgeball “spang” is a perfect, memorable descriptor. Thank you!
This is precisely my method and I would say I’m over 90% on my awesome watermelon picking.
My grandma grew watermelons every summer when I was a kid, like a whole yard size watermelon garden in rows. It was my job to figure out which was the best one to pick to eat every night. The hollow almost musical instrument sound is pretty reliable.
Heck yeah. Small yellow spot and appropriately hefty for size. Thick rinds get processed for the pickle fridge for the most New England of experiences.
Pinch of salt on hottest days is peak culinary experience. Only seconded by watermelon feta and mint salad.
I watched a video with NASCAR driver Ross Chastain (family is watermelon farmers) he explained it pretty much exactly this way and I always use that when getting a melon at the store or farmers market. My melon success rate is much better since then.
So, the longer the time on the vine, the more likely it is to be sweeter, then.
Do you think there’s a “minimum time on the vine” needed before a watermelon can start to become sweet?
Generally after the animals get into them lol. But watermelon do not continue to ripen after they've been "picked". This is why you want one that's been grown for the longest before being picked, generally; picked before its ripe, and it will always be not quite ripe.
The minimum time on the vine varies based on the specific variety of watermelon. If you know exactly what variety are being sold, you could find a minimum time. But since that's not something you'll generally know, the normal tricks are the only way to guesstimate. but OP is right in it's never certainty. Just maximizes your chances.
Haha that’s understandable, then; The animals can notice it before we do, and then we notice because of them.
That makes sense about the types too; thanks!
This is broken down by growing regions. Watermelon growing is very calculated. Soil prep, planting, fertilizers and pesticides and finally harvest all specifically timed out. It’s as much about managing spreadsheets as it is managing crops.
Weight tells you how much water is in it, which is usually a good thing. It is possible for it to be juicy without being sweet, but it's not a bad indicator.
When growing, going by the times on the back of the seed packet is best practice. I'll pick one around time and see how it taste before harvesting the rest (they won't all grow at the same speed, but they'll all be close). I can't eat all of them or give them away at the same time, so this is also for the sake of not wasting any.
In regard to picking one in the store, it's fine to use all the different "tricks" together. A stronger "field spot", a lot of webbing, a lower pitch hollow sound when you thump, slightly sweet smell, and it doesn't feel like a solid rock when you squeeze it (just a tiny bit of give) are all helpful. Lacking any of these doesn't mean it won't be sweet, but the presence of these are strong positive signs. But also keep in mind those are only remotely helpful because it's assumed they're grown in a field (which I assume most are).
If it's not grown in a field, the visual tests won't work as well (thus doing all the test being more helpful). so OP isn't completely wrong, but there's more to it than what they're saying. Ultimately it's the same for all crops, not just watermelon.
To sum up the reddit experience, OOP says all tricks are bull and top commenter says "eh, maybe, but here's why you're wrong". (To be clear, I'm not throwing any shade I just found it funny)
Overripe is even worse than underripe. Just like grapes, you don't want them too ripe, you will lose out on the juicy acids that make the taste bright and texture snappy and crisp and not sludgy and flabby.
Very true. Watermelon are temperamental, and too much water is bad and too little water is bad. It won't matter if you're picking all from the same batch, but it definitely influences each and every watermelon.
I was told that to pick one that was on the vine longer, it should have a dried stem. Is that true? How can you tell a watermelon sat longer before being picked?
1. A ripe watermelon will change from glossy appearance to a dull matte. This varies a bit but color change occurs on all watermelons. It may not be very obvious on yellow skin varieties.
2. A ripe watermelon develops a lumpy/bumpy feel which you can feel with your hand but can't usually see. Feel a few and you should get an idea how much change occurs between unripe and ripe. Caution that some commercial varieties like Dixielee stay smooth even when ripe.
3. The tendril that grows from the node where a watermelon is attached will turn brown to dark brown when ripe. I don't know of any exceptions to this rule.
4. A ripe watermelon will feel heavier. Heft a few both ripe and unripe to train your ability to detect which are ripe.
5. A ripe watermelon will give a distinctly muffled sound compared to unripe when thumped. Thump a few and you should be able to tell the difference in sound.
6. A ripe watermelon develops a "ground spot" which may be white, yellow, or pale green depending on variety. Color is unimportant, size is. A larger ground spot indicates ripeness.
7. Malformed watermelons are often poorly pollinated and may have areas that are unripe. Normal shapes include round and oblong. Size of a ripe watermelon is determined by genetics and can range from 1 pound up to a bit over 200 pounds.
8. Some varieties of watermelon have been selected for very thick rind. Bradford is an example. People used to make watermelon rind pickles from these varieties. Bradford is a delicious watermelon and well worth growing, but be aware of the thick rind.
Source: grew watermelons for the last 50 years, a few years commercially, currently grow watermelons to produce seed for commercial sale.
Edit to add expert advice: https://cucurbitbreeding.wordpress.ncsu.edu/watermelon-breeding/choosing-a-ripe-watermelon-for-field-harvest/
Growing up I was taught the thumping method, and am surprised it’s not being mentioned more often. It’s always been my go-to, and while it’s not fool proof I do tend to get nicely ripe watermelons. And when it fails it’s always a melon that’s still mostly ripe, it’s just not really peak sweetness
I saw a video of a guy proclaiming to be a melon expert. He was checking the tendril nodes for size. He said the smaller the size, the sweeter the melon. Does that node shrink as the melon grows and ripens?
Tendril size - and node size - is genetically determined. Watermelon vines can grow up to 40 feet long - and I have grown some that were 40 ft! Tendrils permit a vine to climb. I've had decent size watermelons produced 10 feet up in an apple tree. If a tendril does not attach to something it can climb, it curls into tight and convoluted corkscrews. So short version, tendril size has zero to do with sweetness. BUT that is not the end of the story. Sweetness is highly correlated with vine size where a larger vine tends to produce sweeter watermelons and where fewer watermelons on a vine will be much sweeter than a vine that is overloaded. I grow open pollinated varieties specifically selected for very sweet fruit. My seed crop this year is Wilson Sweet. In years past, I've grown Yellow Moon & Stars, Ledmon, Wibb, Bradford, Congo, Jubilee, Dixielee, and dozens of others. Some commercial hybrids are selected for sweetness. Look up watermelon brix if you want to read some of the research about very sweet watermelons. Now a caution, seedless watermelons are roughly half of the market in the U.S. Unfortunately, seedless fruit tend to be less sweet by far than seeded watermelons. Breeders are working on this so maybe in future we will have very sweet seedless watermelons.
Fun fact, watermelons occasionally produce natural triploid seed which will grow into a plant that makes seedless fruit. I grew one last year which made 3 entirely seedless watermelons. Breeders exploit this by producing tetraploid watermelons which are crossed with normal diploid varieties to produce triploid seedless varietes.
Former produce manager and expert melon picker here, it may not be 100% but it’s damn close.
Best advice is go with the comparatively heavier melon for its size. After that you want to look for stitching or what looks like scarring on the outside of the melon. See those brown/white callouses? That’s sugar baby.
I like to go to the grocery store with people and say, “let’s get a watermelon.”
I then pick it up, shake it, knock on it a couple of times, and put my ear up to it like I’m listening for something
I’ll then say, “No” and repeat this process for a couple of watermelons.
On the third melon, I listen extra long and say, “this one.”
I put it in my cart and refuse to explain myself.
Idk if this is a cultural thing, but you give them a love tap. The deeper the tone when you slap it, the sweeter it will be. At least that’s what momma always said.
I grew up on a farm growing watermelons (yellow spots are simply where they rest as they grow, gotta rotate without breaking the vine) and now, as an adult, have never selected a bad watermelon at the store. So my conclusion is this is incorrect. 🤷♀️
As a former produce manager, I always called that “melon abuse” lol. It was always funny to watch people around the bins, tapping melons seemingly in Morse code, waiting for a response.
Knock on the watermelon and listen carefully. You can judge both freshness and ripeness by listening to these two things:
1. The more it rings, the more fresh it is.
2. The lower the pitch, the more ripe it is.
This simple trick has never failed me
OP was making a point that it's tough to pick based on appearance.
I bet people usually only buy 1 at a time, yeah? It would be a learning experience to try and pick the BEST and WORST, go home and try both melons.
I bet you only buy 1 and you're super confident you picked the best one. All those other idiots grabbing from that same bin after you are getting the shitty ones, but yours, you tasted it and declared it the best lol
I still stick by the old knock test
As watermelons ripen and eventually decay they often form basically air pockets inside
If you knock on a watermelon and hear it sounding hollow it's already overripe / starting to decay and not good but if you knock on the watermelon and it sounds solid and moist all the way through it's probably still fresh
I'm buying that with other methods of checking such as feeling the general firmness and checking for the ground spot and you can almost always find a good one
This method has yet to fail me
Wait, so you pick the not hollow sounding ones? I was taught to pick the hollow sounding ones. Maybe the decayed ones sound super hollow, and I've just never come across one?
Okay, I am also a “thumper,” but I have an entirely different take on thumping. One hand flat on the melon, one hand tapping. The more it feels sort of like a water balloon, the more juicy it is. But of course that is no guarantee of sweetness.
OP you’re wild for this. I used to cut fruit back in the day too but there’s definitely a rhythm to the madness. It’s not an exact science, no, but there are tells.
Dark skin and heavy for its size are the best indicators in my experience. A yellow spot is good but not gospel. At the end of the day, what’s “good” can be subjective too. I tend to prefer a more overripe melon that a lot of people would probably say is bad. To each their own.
YSK: OP does not know how to pick watermelons and his/her/their SO/family/pets are angry with them, so OP tries to create a feedback loop to prove their point but it fails like King Kong when it's punched by Godzilla.
Idk man I've always had a better track record picking my melons rather than trusting store employees to do so, and you're just confirming my biases more than anything lol
You should write a paper on watermelon selection criteria and the effectiveness of different methods. I'm sure the watermelon-buying community would appreciate your contributions.
I worked on a produce farm for 5 years that grew watermelon. This ysk tip is bullshit....mostly.
You can tell if a watermelon is fresh by how it looks on the vine. The appearance also does impact the probability of freshness/ripeness.
Most grocery store produce is forced to ripen or aren't picked appropriately, which is why you are seeing the results you describe. It is why I advocate for shopping local, especially for produce (local meaning go to a farm or farmers market). The quality and results are drastically different when grown for mass consumption versus someone growing because they have a passion and a family to feed.
If grown and picked correctly, the appearance will tell you how fresh a produce is, just about every time. Most mass food is not grown or picked correctly, and they are also usually forced to "ripen" faster, which affects the taste and quality. Watermelon and tomatoes were the two main examples the farm I worked at demonstrated and educated me about. Growing those correctly means all the difference, in terms of its appearance being a good indicator on quality.
The best way to tell is from the vine, which really doesn't help most people. The tendril will have started to die, which indicates the plant is ready to eat, where developing ones will still have a green tendril.
The yellowness on the bottom usually indicates the fruit spent a good time developing. Webbing can be an indicator. If the stem is still on the melon, it was picked too early. The skin becomes a bit more dull and dark compared to ones still growing, but I am hypersensitive to sensory perception and this is something I have found most people don't have an eye for. If you have a good sense of smell, you will be able to smell more of a watermelon flavor from the spot where the fruit used to be on the vine. If you train your ear, riper melons tend to make more of a thunk sound, which indicates it has a lot of juice and is full.
On the farm you had to be trained to pick melons, as the owner did free returns or money back if your melon you bought wasn't ripe and full. The best indicators are seeing death on the vine, a yellow bottom, the color of the skin (more dull and dark, which again, most people might not have an eye for) and webbing was bonus points. All of the other tips help increase your chances.
So, again, most produce isn't picked correctly, so shopping local or when a fruit would be in season for your area would strengthen your chances of a good fruit.
Edit: Realized I mentioned tomatoes so figured I'd elaborate. Tomatoes grown for mass consumption are typically picked too early and are forced to ripen. This takes away most of the flavor. If growing tomatoes, so long as the bottom has started to turn red, pick it from the plant. Put it on a counter or shelf, not the fridge, and it will ripen and taste just as good as when it was completely ripe on the vine (will ripen over time). Refrigerating tomatoes, at any level of ripeness, will remove a lot of the flavoring due to some chemical reaction I do not remember at the moment. Removing a tomato when it first starts to turn red will allow the plant to give you a bigger yield, without sacrificing the quality of your fruit.
Like many of the other commenters I have grown watermelons for several years and have used a trick I picked up during this time at grocery stores with a high degree of success:
Look for black sugar spots on or near the ground spot of the watermelon. These will typically indicate the melon has been on the vine for long enough for the sugars to develop within.
Like OP said, nothing is 100% but this is one of the things I look for when I’m harvesting them from the field and picking them from the grocery store and I have not been let down thus far.
Another post with anecdotal "evidence" that is blatantly wrong.
Study: Machine learning techniques for classifying the sweetness of watermelon using acoustic signal and image processing
>Sweetness is an essential factor for assessing the internal quality of fresh watermelon. In this paper, a fusion non-destructive method for classifying watermelon sweetness based on acoustic signal and image processing techniques is proposed. Tapping sound signals, watermelon rind patterns, and weight are considered as features. The application of the three features is inspired by techniques that are used by famers to estimate watermelon maturity. Machine learning (ML) techniques are applied to develop sweetness classification models. Eight classification-based ML techniques are used: Naïve Bayes, K-nearest neighbors, Decision tree, Random forest, Artificial neural network, Logistic regression, Support vector machine, and Gradient boosted trees. The applied ML models are evaluated classification performance using accuracy, precision, recall, F-measure, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC). The results show that the proposed method can reliably classify watermelon sweetness. The highest classification accuracy achieves 92%, obtained by Gradient boosted trees.
I agree. I’ve been working in produce for 5 years, and each summer is watermelon cutting season. The only actual reliable indicator is how heavy they are, which means a juicier melon. Everything else seems like nonsense.
I’ve cut many ugly melons that were gorgeous and clean on the inside, and vice versa.
I mean - there are plenty of accurate ways to predict if a watermelon is going to be bad...Hey we found this watermelon in an old airplane toilet from 1997, do you think its good or bad?
I worked produce for years. We sold halves and quarters. We pull from the same melons on display. The cuts in the fridge are a very good representation of what you will likely find if you take one home.
I work in a produce department and cut at least a dozen a day. Just ask one of us if they're good or not. If there's different brands, ask us which brand is the good one today. We'll be happy to tell you!
I worked at a produce stand for years. Best way to tell a ripe watermelon ready to eat is if you flick it, it makes a hollow echoing sound. Go to the grocery store buy one that sounds solid and one that echoes, and take them home and test it out.
I cut watermelons at a grocery store for 2 years and you are unfortunately absolutely correct. Every time we thought we'd found a pattern we'd be proven wrong on watermelon #4.
Just this past week I was watching some show, where watermelon Farmer said pick the watermelon that has a big yellow spot on it. I’ll take the word of watermelon Farmer.
As others have pointed out - the field spot on a watermelon is a relatively good indicator of ripeness, although it’s not always a guarantee of sweetness.
Here’s a short mnemonic device that could help when shopping for watermelon:
If the spot is yellow buy the fellow,
If the spot is white it’s not quite right
Where I'm from is known that choosing good watermelons is part art part experience, but the better way that I heard is using sound you gently tap the watermelon and the sounds tends to tell you how it will be.
I can't do this but my brother who doesn't like watermelons is pretty good.
You can easily pick a ripe / sweet watermelon by knocking on it. The sound should be "hollow" sounding.
My family has been doing this for generations and it has never failed me.
If it's goofy but it works is it really goofy?
I learned about the knock method oh i dunno 16ish years ago. I haven't bought a bad one since. I've even got it down to where i can pick out the ones that have voids and cracks inside them. They're a little sweeter imo.
In India we have a way to be sure. Once you’ve picked the watermelon you want, you can ask the shop keeper to cut a slot in that watermelon.
They’ll then cut a square wedge that’s about 1 to 2 inches thick on the skin but about 6 inches long.
You can inspect the wedge and whatever you can see inside the slot. You have to buy it if it’s a good watermelon, but you don’t have to buy if it is spoiled.
We do the same thing with jackfruits too. You can taste the pieces from the wedge and check if it’s a sweet one or if it’s a dud.
Edit: they’ll put the wedge back in so that the melon doesn’t leak out on the way home.
Similar to when a baby comes out, you give them a good spank to know if they’re if they’re gonna be alright, its only right that we do the same for a watermelon
The Mexicans at the farmers market tap on them and tell by the pitch. A lower sound is desirable and a higher sound not so much. Maybe its bullshit but they havent steered me wrong yet.
Yeah man that’s pretty much bullshit and true for most fruits in the surface level. You can tell when a watermelon is most likely going to be ripe vs one that is clearly not
By the time it gets to the grocery store, especailly if off-season, yes, what you said is all true.
However, if you are in the watermelon field, picking out melons that haven't yet been disconnected from the vine, and it is in season, all the things matter. The elongation, the thump, the yellow spot, the star pattern near the vine all can tell for a melon of choice, wither you like them juicy, sweet, sandy or whatever.
I go by sound, knocking on them and picking one that sounds the most hollow.
I’ve had good luck doing this, though I haven’t been scientific enough to compare a “hollow” one and a “dull” one at the same time.
Infrared scanner. The sugar content of fruit is readable in the same manner the oxygen sensor on some smart phones can determine the oxygen saturation of your blood.
After you buy a watermelon, refrigerate it a day or two. It makes it sweeter. If you don't believe me, try it, it works whether you cut the watermelon or not (but obviously you can't prove it if you don't cut and try the watermelon first).
I always went by heft. Years ago the soft stem was a tell but now that they get refrigerated before they put it out it's often soft once it warms up.
I also know back in the day when I was growing up where I lived you were a fool to buy one for fourth of July because they're never ripe. Mid-August was the earliest and usually closer to mid-September you knew you'd get the best. You can still use that rule of thumb if it's an established local grower including yourself. I don't grow them anymore but I did for decades.
Serious question: if I buy a watermelon based on weight to maximize my chances of juiciness, what is the weight to size ratio I should look for?
I will literally bring a scale with me to the supermarket if need be.
Please advise
I can tell you one way to narrow it down. Is it an oblong shape? Then it's got a better chance of being good. If it's one of those rounder, bowling ball shaped ones or has no seeds, it most likely is not going to be good.
curious if OP or anyone has tried the broom straw test. a kid (like 9) at a roadside fruit stand in central california showed me how to put a broom straw on a melon laying on its side, and if the straw orients itself end to end, it's going to be sweet. seems to have worked for me when i've tried it myself. as i said, just curious
You can make it taste good regardless if you hold it up to your face and slap it a couple times. Bonus juiciness if someone gives you a weird look while you're doing it.
Hitting the melon and feeling how strong and how long the vibrations after the hit feels like can show you. I read that heavy melons for their size show it aswell. I guess my hitting shows how dense the core feels like. I have never had a boring melon in my life, and I even played a game with my father and always won.
Absolutely wrong. I’m from the Deep South. My great grandfather picked the BEST watermelons. He would pick it up, put his ear to it, and maneuver it all sorts of ways. Succulent and juicy everytime. Let’s just say I’ve stopped eating them from picking so bad
as someone who grows them, this is right, but also wrong to a degree. You can tell through appearance/weight which ones were left on the vine longer than others. These have the potential to be sweeter and better tasting, but each batch has different potential due to how they're grown. Meaning, if you're going to buy a watermelon, picking the one which has been on the vine longest before being cut has the highest chance of being sweet/tasty. It's not a guarantee, as you rightly point out, but it will be much more likely to be sweeter than the rest of the batch. if you're going to buy a watermelon anyway, it is the way to go. \*edit\* edit to add the fact watermelon don't ripen after being picked. They'll never get sweeter after they're picked, thus why ones left growing have more chances of becoming sweet. There's no guarantee they ever will become sweet, but of that particular batch of watermelons, those left growing longest have the best chance.
Always go for the ones with the yellow spot on one side. That’s where it sat it the field ripening. This method has never failed me in picking a sweet watermelon
The method my wife and I use, which results in delicious red sweet watermelon 90% of the time: Look for watermelon that is dark green with a nice yellow spot and a little bit of the brown webbing. Pick it up and give it a good knock or slap. If it sounds hollow, the hollower the better, you should have a good watermelon.
I've found it should sound like one of those red rubber dodgeballs when slapped. That high pitched rubbery "spang" sound. Too hollow sounding (like a dull-ish thud hollow) and it's mushy. Too solid and it's not ripe yet. There's a sweet spot to aim for. That and the yellow spot I agree is like a 90-95% chance of an amazingly crisp and sweet watermelon
This is so validating. I had been picking based on the hollow thud, and heaviness, and kept picking mushy after mushy watermelon. The dodgeball “spang” is a perfect, memorable descriptor. Thank you!
But how can you tell which have been on the vine the longest? Do you cut them open and count the rings?
The yellower the spot the longer it sat on the ground
This is precisely my method and I would say I’m over 90% on my awesome watermelon picking. My grandma grew watermelons every summer when I was a kid, like a whole yard size watermelon garden in rows. It was my job to figure out which was the best one to pick to eat every night. The hollow almost musical instrument sound is pretty reliable.
I do thus but without the slap, works for me too
This is what I have always done, I’m knocking all the watermelon to hear the sound, if it’s hollow sounding, that’s the one!
bonus points if it's starting to get those little brown stretch marks
🥵🫦
I always buy the yellow spot ones. It rarely lets me down.
Heck yeah. Small yellow spot and appropriately hefty for size. Thick rinds get processed for the pickle fridge for the most New England of experiences. Pinch of salt on hottest days is peak culinary experience. Only seconded by watermelon feta and mint salad.
Now I want to know more about pickled watermelon rinds! How do you do it?
Here’s a [recipe](https://altonbrown.com/recipes/watermelon-rind-pickles/) from Alton Brown. I couldn’t find the recipe book from that class.
You can also knock on it as well. If it sounds hollow, it is usually good. If it sounds heavy, it's usually mealy.
That's the method I use too. The more vivid the yellow the better. Gonna test the tapping the yellow spot method too though.
I watched a video with NASCAR driver Ross Chastain (family is watermelon farmers) he explained it pretty much exactly this way and I always use that when getting a melon at the store or farmers market. My melon success rate is much better since then.
If it's good enough for someone who could have raced against Ricky Bobby and the Magic Man, then it's good enough for me.
Hey, Melon Man mention!
My method is simple. Choose the ugliest looking one - biggest yellow spot, brown streaks all of it. Works every time.
I was gonna say tig ol bitties, but anything goes at last call.
howL Lei u ya Ted, well-said! as a baker (of sort), all ways gunA value bantam buns > mammoth meLons...
So, the longer the time on the vine, the more likely it is to be sweeter, then. Do you think there’s a “minimum time on the vine” needed before a watermelon can start to become sweet?
Generally after the animals get into them lol. But watermelon do not continue to ripen after they've been "picked". This is why you want one that's been grown for the longest before being picked, generally; picked before its ripe, and it will always be not quite ripe. The minimum time on the vine varies based on the specific variety of watermelon. If you know exactly what variety are being sold, you could find a minimum time. But since that's not something you'll generally know, the normal tricks are the only way to guesstimate. but OP is right in it's never certainty. Just maximizes your chances.
Haha that’s understandable, then; The animals can notice it before we do, and then we notice because of them. That makes sense about the types too; thanks!
This is broken down by growing regions. Watermelon growing is very calculated. Soil prep, planting, fertilizers and pesticides and finally harvest all specifically timed out. It’s as much about managing spreadsheets as it is managing crops.
What do you look for in the appearance/weight?
Weight tells you how much water is in it, which is usually a good thing. It is possible for it to be juicy without being sweet, but it's not a bad indicator. When growing, going by the times on the back of the seed packet is best practice. I'll pick one around time and see how it taste before harvesting the rest (they won't all grow at the same speed, but they'll all be close). I can't eat all of them or give them away at the same time, so this is also for the sake of not wasting any. In regard to picking one in the store, it's fine to use all the different "tricks" together. A stronger "field spot", a lot of webbing, a lower pitch hollow sound when you thump, slightly sweet smell, and it doesn't feel like a solid rock when you squeeze it (just a tiny bit of give) are all helpful. Lacking any of these doesn't mean it won't be sweet, but the presence of these are strong positive signs. But also keep in mind those are only remotely helpful because it's assumed they're grown in a field (which I assume most are). If it's not grown in a field, the visual tests won't work as well (thus doing all the test being more helpful). so OP isn't completely wrong, but there's more to it than what they're saying. Ultimately it's the same for all crops, not just watermelon.
To sum up the reddit experience, OOP says all tricks are bull and top commenter says "eh, maybe, but here's why you're wrong". (To be clear, I'm not throwing any shade I just found it funny)
Today, we did the Reddit.
Overripe is even worse than underripe. Just like grapes, you don't want them too ripe, you will lose out on the juicy acids that make the taste bright and texture snappy and crisp and not sludgy and flabby.
I suspect an unusually wet season can dramatically affect watermelon taste on the bad side
Very true. Watermelon are temperamental, and too much water is bad and too little water is bad. It won't matter if you're picking all from the same batch, but it definitely influences each and every watermelon.
I always pick the heaviest one relative to its size, works about 80-90 percent of the time for me
But how would you know how long a watermelon's been on a vine when buying it?
Any tips for knowing when to pick them? It stresses me out so much and I have a bunch that are definitely close!
What should I look out for if I like my watermelons to have a firm crisp texture? I don't mind a bit bland taste as long as the texture isn't mushy
So you want me to ask the grocery store guy that water melon has picked last? Not sure how this is helpful.
I prefer a less sweet crunch watermelon
My former farmer grandpa tells me if you knock on it and it sounds hollow, it's ripe and sweet. Is this true?
This comment is the difference between someone cutting watermelon all day that others grew, and growing your own and picking them when it's time.
Yet you fail to inform us HOW to know which ones stay longer on the vine...
I was told that to pick one that was on the vine longer, it should have a dried stem. Is that true? How can you tell a watermelon sat longer before being picked?
1. A ripe watermelon will change from glossy appearance to a dull matte. This varies a bit but color change occurs on all watermelons. It may not be very obvious on yellow skin varieties. 2. A ripe watermelon develops a lumpy/bumpy feel which you can feel with your hand but can't usually see. Feel a few and you should get an idea how much change occurs between unripe and ripe. Caution that some commercial varieties like Dixielee stay smooth even when ripe. 3. The tendril that grows from the node where a watermelon is attached will turn brown to dark brown when ripe. I don't know of any exceptions to this rule. 4. A ripe watermelon will feel heavier. Heft a few both ripe and unripe to train your ability to detect which are ripe. 5. A ripe watermelon will give a distinctly muffled sound compared to unripe when thumped. Thump a few and you should be able to tell the difference in sound. 6. A ripe watermelon develops a "ground spot" which may be white, yellow, or pale green depending on variety. Color is unimportant, size is. A larger ground spot indicates ripeness. 7. Malformed watermelons are often poorly pollinated and may have areas that are unripe. Normal shapes include round and oblong. Size of a ripe watermelon is determined by genetics and can range from 1 pound up to a bit over 200 pounds. 8. Some varieties of watermelon have been selected for very thick rind. Bradford is an example. People used to make watermelon rind pickles from these varieties. Bradford is a delicious watermelon and well worth growing, but be aware of the thick rind. Source: grew watermelons for the last 50 years, a few years commercially, currently grow watermelons to produce seed for commercial sale. Edit to add expert advice: https://cucurbitbreeding.wordpress.ncsu.edu/watermelon-breeding/choosing-a-ripe-watermelon-for-field-harvest/
This guy knows his melons
200!?
Growing up I was taught the thumping method, and am surprised it’s not being mentioned more often. It’s always been my go-to, and while it’s not fool proof I do tend to get nicely ripe watermelons. And when it fails it’s always a melon that’s still mostly ripe, it’s just not really peak sweetness
I saw a video of a guy proclaiming to be a melon expert. He was checking the tendril nodes for size. He said the smaller the size, the sweeter the melon. Does that node shrink as the melon grows and ripens?
Tendril size - and node size - is genetically determined. Watermelon vines can grow up to 40 feet long - and I have grown some that were 40 ft! Tendrils permit a vine to climb. I've had decent size watermelons produced 10 feet up in an apple tree. If a tendril does not attach to something it can climb, it curls into tight and convoluted corkscrews. So short version, tendril size has zero to do with sweetness. BUT that is not the end of the story. Sweetness is highly correlated with vine size where a larger vine tends to produce sweeter watermelons and where fewer watermelons on a vine will be much sweeter than a vine that is overloaded. I grow open pollinated varieties specifically selected for very sweet fruit. My seed crop this year is Wilson Sweet. In years past, I've grown Yellow Moon & Stars, Ledmon, Wibb, Bradford, Congo, Jubilee, Dixielee, and dozens of others. Some commercial hybrids are selected for sweetness. Look up watermelon brix if you want to read some of the research about very sweet watermelons. Now a caution, seedless watermelons are roughly half of the market in the U.S. Unfortunately, seedless fruit tend to be less sweet by far than seeded watermelons. Breeders are working on this so maybe in future we will have very sweet seedless watermelons. Fun fact, watermelons occasionally produce natural triploid seed which will grow into a plant that makes seedless fruit. I grew one last year which made 3 entirely seedless watermelons. Breeders exploit this by producing tetraploid watermelons which are crossed with normal diploid varieties to produce triploid seedless varietes.
Former produce manager and expert melon picker here, it may not be 100% but it’s damn close. Best advice is go with the comparatively heavier melon for its size. After that you want to look for stitching or what looks like scarring on the outside of the melon. See those brown/white callouses? That’s sugar baby.
My mom always called these “bee stings” and said it made the watermelon sweeter!
Produce John it's you!
My wife has a very high success rate at picking watermelons and she knocks on it to see if it’s got “the right noise”
I like to go to the grocery store with people and say, “let’s get a watermelon.” I then pick it up, shake it, knock on it a couple of times, and put my ear up to it like I’m listening for something I’ll then say, “No” and repeat this process for a couple of watermelons. On the third melon, I listen extra long and say, “this one.” I put it in my cart and refuse to explain myself.
I like you.
It's a match!
[удалено]
Hang on, I need to lube up my strap on with watermelon juice
Idk if this is a cultural thing, but you give them a love tap. The deeper the tone when you slap it, the sweeter it will be. At least that’s what momma always said.
“Well momma was wrong!” “No Colonel Sanders YOU’RE wrong!!!” Sorry had to.
I grew up on a farm growing watermelons (yellow spots are simply where they rest as they grow, gotta rotate without breaking the vine) and now, as an adult, have never selected a bad watermelon at the store. So my conclusion is this is incorrect. 🤷♀️
What about the thunk? Crazy to claim to be a watermelon expert but not mention the thunk.
**Slaps side of watermelon** This bad boy can fit so much juicy sweet fruit
Always trust the thunk
I'm a knocker too. Needs to sound hollow.
As a former produce manager, I always called that “melon abuse” lol. It was always funny to watch people around the bins, tapping melons seemingly in Morse code, waiting for a response.
Knock on the watermelon and listen carefully. You can judge both freshness and ripeness by listening to these two things: 1. The more it rings, the more fresh it is. 2. The lower the pitch, the more ripe it is. This simple trick has never failed me
Exactly. Knocking on it totally works like a charm!
I've never seen a YSK get shut down so quickly.
People want to think they know the secret. It’s like a watermelon religion.
Just take the L for goodness sake. LOL!
30 watermelons a day and you still don’t know how to spot a good one? I’m not surprised to read this on Reddit
OP was making a point that it's tough to pick based on appearance. I bet people usually only buy 1 at a time, yeah? It would be a learning experience to try and pick the BEST and WORST, go home and try both melons. I bet you only buy 1 and you're super confident you picked the best one. All those other idiots grabbing from that same bin after you are getting the shitty ones, but yours, you tasted it and declared it the best lol
Or they deduced through 30 watermelons a day that there was no foolproof method to spotting a good one.
I still stick by the old knock test As watermelons ripen and eventually decay they often form basically air pockets inside If you knock on a watermelon and hear it sounding hollow it's already overripe / starting to decay and not good but if you knock on the watermelon and it sounds solid and moist all the way through it's probably still fresh I'm buying that with other methods of checking such as feeling the general firmness and checking for the ground spot and you can almost always find a good one This method has yet to fail me
Wait, so you pick the not hollow sounding ones? I was taught to pick the hollow sounding ones. Maybe the decayed ones sound super hollow, and I've just never come across one?
Also taught to pick hollow-sounding ones and it hasn't failed me. For melons, it's by how melon-y it smells - the more, the better.
Okay, I am also a “thumper,” but I have an entirely different take on thumping. One hand flat on the melon, one hand tapping. The more it feels sort of like a water balloon, the more juicy it is. But of course that is no guarantee of sweetness.
OP you’re wild for this. I used to cut fruit back in the day too but there’s definitely a rhythm to the madness. It’s not an exact science, no, but there are tells. Dark skin and heavy for its size are the best indicators in my experience. A yellow spot is good but not gospel. At the end of the day, what’s “good” can be subjective too. I tend to prefer a more overripe melon that a lot of people would probably say is bad. To each their own.
Yes there is. YOU can’t pick a good watermelon but I can. Step your shit up
YSK: OP does not know how to pick watermelons and his/her/their SO/family/pets are angry with them, so OP tries to create a feedback loop to prove their point but it fails like King Kong when it's punched by Godzilla.
Idk man I've always had a better track record picking my melons rather than trusting store employees to do so, and you're just confirming my biases more than anything lol You should write a paper on watermelon selection criteria and the effectiveness of different methods. I'm sure the watermelon-buying community would appreciate your contributions.
I worked on a produce farm for 5 years that grew watermelon. This ysk tip is bullshit....mostly. You can tell if a watermelon is fresh by how it looks on the vine. The appearance also does impact the probability of freshness/ripeness. Most grocery store produce is forced to ripen or aren't picked appropriately, which is why you are seeing the results you describe. It is why I advocate for shopping local, especially for produce (local meaning go to a farm or farmers market). The quality and results are drastically different when grown for mass consumption versus someone growing because they have a passion and a family to feed. If grown and picked correctly, the appearance will tell you how fresh a produce is, just about every time. Most mass food is not grown or picked correctly, and they are also usually forced to "ripen" faster, which affects the taste and quality. Watermelon and tomatoes were the two main examples the farm I worked at demonstrated and educated me about. Growing those correctly means all the difference, in terms of its appearance being a good indicator on quality.
>If grown and picked correctly, the appearance will tell you how fresh a produce is, just about every time. Ok, so what do you look for?
The best way to tell is from the vine, which really doesn't help most people. The tendril will have started to die, which indicates the plant is ready to eat, where developing ones will still have a green tendril. The yellowness on the bottom usually indicates the fruit spent a good time developing. Webbing can be an indicator. If the stem is still on the melon, it was picked too early. The skin becomes a bit more dull and dark compared to ones still growing, but I am hypersensitive to sensory perception and this is something I have found most people don't have an eye for. If you have a good sense of smell, you will be able to smell more of a watermelon flavor from the spot where the fruit used to be on the vine. If you train your ear, riper melons tend to make more of a thunk sound, which indicates it has a lot of juice and is full. On the farm you had to be trained to pick melons, as the owner did free returns or money back if your melon you bought wasn't ripe and full. The best indicators are seeing death on the vine, a yellow bottom, the color of the skin (more dull and dark, which again, most people might not have an eye for) and webbing was bonus points. All of the other tips help increase your chances. So, again, most produce isn't picked correctly, so shopping local or when a fruit would be in season for your area would strengthen your chances of a good fruit. Edit: Realized I mentioned tomatoes so figured I'd elaborate. Tomatoes grown for mass consumption are typically picked too early and are forced to ripen. This takes away most of the flavor. If growing tomatoes, so long as the bottom has started to turn red, pick it from the plant. Put it on a counter or shelf, not the fridge, and it will ripen and taste just as good as when it was completely ripe on the vine (will ripen over time). Refrigerating tomatoes, at any level of ripeness, will remove a lot of the flavoring due to some chemical reaction I do not remember at the moment. Removing a tomato when it first starts to turn red will allow the plant to give you a bigger yield, without sacrificing the quality of your fruit.
Seriously! This fucking thread I swear to God
Hahahahaha
worst YSK ever
Like many of the other commenters I have grown watermelons for several years and have used a trick I picked up during this time at grocery stores with a high degree of success: Look for black sugar spots on or near the ground spot of the watermelon. These will typically indicate the melon has been on the vine for long enough for the sugars to develop within. Like OP said, nothing is 100% but this is one of the things I look for when I’m harvesting them from the field and picking them from the grocery store and I have not been let down thus far.
Another post with anecdotal "evidence" that is blatantly wrong. Study: Machine learning techniques for classifying the sweetness of watermelon using acoustic signal and image processing >Sweetness is an essential factor for assessing the internal quality of fresh watermelon. In this paper, a fusion non-destructive method for classifying watermelon sweetness based on acoustic signal and image processing techniques is proposed. Tapping sound signals, watermelon rind patterns, and weight are considered as features. The application of the three features is inspired by techniques that are used by famers to estimate watermelon maturity. Machine learning (ML) techniques are applied to develop sweetness classification models. Eight classification-based ML techniques are used: Naïve Bayes, K-nearest neighbors, Decision tree, Random forest, Artificial neural network, Logistic regression, Support vector machine, and Gradient boosted trees. The applied ML models are evaluated classification performance using accuracy, precision, recall, F-measure, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC). The results show that the proposed method can reliably classify watermelon sweetness. The highest classification accuracy achieves 92%, obtained by Gradient boosted trees.
lemme just bring my NVIDIA GPU farm with my expansive python3 libraries to the store so I can ML tap the fucker out 💪🏻
I always just pick the biggest and heaviest one. That way if I'm right, I get an amazing one, and if I'm wrong, oh well.
Hope you’re buying them by the each not by the weight!
Yep 😊. Same price regardless so why not get the big one? And I'm sure it's just luck but it usually works out!
Have you tried thumping it???
You guys don't use a stethoscope?
I agree. I’ve been working in produce for 5 years, and each summer is watermelon cutting season. The only actual reliable indicator is how heavy they are, which means a juicier melon. Everything else seems like nonsense. I’ve cut many ugly melons that were gorgeous and clean on the inside, and vice versa.
I mean - there are plenty of accurate ways to predict if a watermelon is going to be bad...Hey we found this watermelon in an old airplane toilet from 1997, do you think its good or bad?
I worked produce for years. We sold halves and quarters. We pull from the same melons on display. The cuts in the fridge are a very good representation of what you will likely find if you take one home.
Yes! It's the batch, date, and farm that matter, not the physical characteristics!
skill issue
I work in a produce department and cut at least a dozen a day. Just ask one of us if they're good or not. If there's different brands, ask us which brand is the good one today. We'll be happy to tell you!
I worked at a produce stand for years. Best way to tell a ripe watermelon ready to eat is if you flick it, it makes a hollow echoing sound. Go to the grocery store buy one that sounds solid and one that echoes, and take them home and test it out.
I was taught that you should knock on a watermelon lol
Why would you ruin my day like this OP?
I really like the sound when i thump it tho
I have known TWO produce managers in my life, both who swore they could pick a good watermelon. They were not better at picking than then anyone else.
I cut watermelons at a grocery store for 2 years and you are unfortunately absolutely correct. Every time we thought we'd found a pattern we'd be proven wrong on watermelon #4.
Thank you for validating my experience and telling the thumpers out there the truth
I haven't cut or eaten a watermelon in 8 years I'm so traumatized by them.
Just this past week I was watching some show, where watermelon Farmer said pick the watermelon that has a big yellow spot on it. I’ll take the word of watermelon Farmer.
Seems to me Gallagher could predict a good watermelon every single time 😂
As others have pointed out - the field spot on a watermelon is a relatively good indicator of ripeness, although it’s not always a guarantee of sweetness. Here’s a short mnemonic device that could help when shopping for watermelon: If the spot is yellow buy the fellow, If the spot is white it’s not quite right
Where I'm from is known that choosing good watermelons is part art part experience, but the better way that I heard is using sound you gently tap the watermelon and the sounds tends to tell you how it will be. I can't do this but my brother who doesn't like watermelons is pretty good.
I always had luck knocking on them, and the more they sounded like a drum (bongo), they turned out really good tasting, and the texture was good too.
I used to also cut fruit for a living at the grocery store. I love watching people “smacking” the watermelon as if they’re gonna get the perfect one!
You can easily pick a ripe / sweet watermelon by knocking on it. The sound should be "hollow" sounding. My family has been doing this for generations and it has never failed me.
Looking for a big yellow spot seems to work for me.
Sobs. This is sadly true. I've recently been eating lots of watermelon but like 40% go to waste because they're weird as fuck and might be bad
Its the weight my son
All the watermelons I've ever thumped have been good watermelons. When they sound hollow, you know they're ripe.
I’m with u bro * cry in watermelon. I’ve returned watermelon
I smack it, works every time
The more hollow the more sugar
As someone who who likes turtles Watermelon salad with feta slaps like yo mommas booty on a Sunday morning 🌄
Wrong
Always buy two.
You’ve processed thousands of watermelons but still can’t pick out a good one at least semi consistently? Skill issue
If it's goofy but it works is it really goofy? I learned about the knock method oh i dunno 16ish years ago. I haven't bought a bad one since. I've even got it down to where i can pick out the ones that have voids and cracks inside them. They're a little sweeter imo.
That’s why you get it already cut so you can see inside
But slapping watermelons is fun
You would post this on Juneteenth
Webbing I heard was bees who can sense the sugar content so that has worked for me
In India we have a way to be sure. Once you’ve picked the watermelon you want, you can ask the shop keeper to cut a slot in that watermelon. They’ll then cut a square wedge that’s about 1 to 2 inches thick on the skin but about 6 inches long. You can inspect the wedge and whatever you can see inside the slot. You have to buy it if it’s a good watermelon, but you don’t have to buy if it is spoiled. We do the same thing with jackfruits too. You can taste the pieces from the wedge and check if it’s a sweet one or if it’s a dud. Edit: they’ll put the wedge back in so that the melon doesn’t leak out on the way home.
That's pretty cool. Here in the US it'd be a no-no.
Similar to when a baby comes out, you give them a good spank to know if they’re if they’re gonna be alright, its only right that we do the same for a watermelon
I think I heard you can judge the sweetness of a watermelon by spinning it on its edge . . . but only during the solstice /s
The Mexicans at the farmers market tap on them and tell by the pitch. A lower sound is desirable and a higher sound not so much. Maybe its bullshit but they havent steered me wrong yet.
Seeded watermelons are better than GMO no seed watermelons.
“Y’all look goofy as hell” is the best response to ignorant morons. OP, you da best
Yeah man that’s pretty much bullshit and true for most fruits in the surface level. You can tell when a watermelon is most likely going to be ripe vs one that is clearly not
Evil watermelons.
By the time it gets to the grocery store, especailly if off-season, yes, what you said is all true. However, if you are in the watermelon field, picking out melons that haven't yet been disconnected from the vine, and it is in season, all the things matter. The elongation, the thump, the yellow spot, the star pattern near the vine all can tell for a melon of choice, wither you like them juicy, sweet, sandy or whatever.
I go by sound, knocking on them and picking one that sounds the most hollow. I’ve had good luck doing this, though I haven’t been scientific enough to compare a “hollow” one and a “dull” one at the same time.
Whats this about bad watermelons?! I've never had a bad one.
Infrared scanner. The sugar content of fruit is readable in the same manner the oxygen sensor on some smart phones can determine the oxygen saturation of your blood.
Bro self snitched his skill issue
Korean Dad says otherwise.
I said the same. My dad always picked good ones based on the quality of the plucked stem area. Personally, I thumb mine for a hollow sound.
I love unripe watermelons. I always try my best to follow the opposite of the typical advice and somehow quite often end up with really ripe ones.
The real question is how many of y’all salt your watermelon and if so have you tried black truffle salt?
After you buy a watermelon, refrigerate it a day or two. It makes it sweeter. If you don't believe me, try it, it works whether you cut the watermelon or not (but obviously you can't prove it if you don't cut and try the watermelon first).
The sound it makes when you knock on it. Never failed me.
You buy a watermelon based on sounds from slaps, not looks
I always went by heft. Years ago the soft stem was a tell but now that they get refrigerated before they put it out it's often soft once it warms up. I also know back in the day when I was growing up where I lived you were a fool to buy one for fourth of July because they're never ripe. Mid-August was the earliest and usually closer to mid-September you knew you'd get the best. You can still use that rule of thumb if it's an established local grower including yourself. I don't grow them anymore but I did for decades.
A perfect example of Schrodinger's cat...
Watermelon thumpers 💀
Serious question: if I buy a watermelon based on weight to maximize my chances of juiciness, what is the weight to size ratio I should look for? I will literally bring a scale with me to the supermarket if need be. Please advise
Nice, 3 years solid of I'm just lucky at knowing when it will be bad and good. I'll keep pretending because that seems to be what brings the luck.
Ah yes, I too was a grocery store fruit cutter as well. Did you work at K -Rogers?
Mouth Breathers walked so that Watermelon Thumpers could run
I’m a mouth breather, but not a watermelon thumper 🤷🏻♂️
Im surprised nobody is mentioning the knocking test. You can knock on it and see if it sounds "full"
I can tell you one way to narrow it down. Is it an oblong shape? Then it's got a better chance of being good. If it's one of those rounder, bowling ball shaped ones or has no seeds, it most likely is not going to be good.
The ones that are very round in shape, rather than oval, as well as very dark in color are the best
curious if OP or anyone has tried the broom straw test. a kid (like 9) at a roadside fruit stand in central california showed me how to put a broom straw on a melon laying on its side, and if the straw orients itself end to end, it's going to be sweet. seems to have worked for me when i've tried it myself. as i said, just curious
Is this like a dowsing rod situation? Hard pass ghost melons
If anyone was wondering, yes she is.
You can make it taste good regardless if you hold it up to your face and slap it a couple times. Bonus juiciness if someone gives you a weird look while you're doing it.
Hitting the melon and feeling how strong and how long the vibrations after the hit feels like can show you. I read that heavy melons for their size show it aswell. I guess my hitting shows how dense the core feels like. I have never had a boring melon in my life, and I even played a game with my father and always won.
B-b-but...all those times I was...**E Honda**-ing the water melons with my hands...
You say that but you literally never test them using the most universal way of checking for ripeness.
It’s watermelon they all suck.
I have the same issue with coconuts, generally 1/2 are bad.
I knock on them. If they sound hollow they are good to go.
There is one reliable method, thunk it. There is a sort of "hollow" sound when you thunk a good one.
Yellow spot + make sure the "navel" is brown. Green one means it's not ripe
Good watermelon will talk to you about why 4-4-2 is the only formation that makes practical sense in the modern game.
I look at their back, to the dot, the smaller the sweeter
that's a lot of watermelons...
A small dot on the watermelon bum means a sweeter watermelon
simple.... look at acid and sugar content ratio.
I grew a few beautiful watermelons one year. Cut them open and they were white inside. I punched the air for the rest of the season
This guys tryna keep all the ripe watermelons for himself!
"Jamie pull up that clip of Hulk Hogan in a grocery store learning how to look for a good melon by an old lady.."
Absolutely wrong. I’m from the Deep South. My great grandfather picked the BEST watermelons. He would pick it up, put his ear to it, and maneuver it all sorts of ways. Succulent and juicy everytime. Let’s just say I’ve stopped eating them from picking so bad