You are probably wondering why “how to choose the best watermelon” deserves a whole post, aren’t you?
Let me tell you why.
I LOVE watermelon. Like really, really LOVE it, not just like it.
I have beautiful childhood memories of eating amazingly sweet watermelon on a farm while visiting my dad’s relatives in the north of Romania. I was born and raised in a city in the East of Romania.
So I was born in the East, but we had relatives in the North and South, who I loved to visit during summers because they had farms, animals, fruits, vegetables, etc. Every summer I got to milk cows, feed chickens and pigs, pick freshly-laid eggs, water the garden, and play with dogs, cats, and chicks. It was heaven on Earth for my little self!
Let’s go back to watermelons, shall we?
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a watermelon like those from my childhood here in Canada.
While in Romania I had no trouble finding sweet juicy watermelons (with big black seeds), it seems that in Canada my quest for a good watermelon doesn’t stop.
You have no idea how much I tried to find a good watermelon. And I don’t mean a perfect one. I would be happy even with a good one. Oh, how I tried! And I’m still trying. Proof is this post right now 🙂 .
And you know what’s even worse? My kids don’t like watermelon. My kids, my flesh and blood, did not inherit my love for watermelon. And I know why – they have never had a good watermelon. All those polite bites I ask them to take are polite bites of sad watermelons that I don’t even like, but force myself to. So I don’t blame them. I blame the sweet-watermelon-lacking situation.
So every year, during watermelon season (from June to August), and even outside watermelon season (because who knows, I might find a good one?) I buy watermelons. Different stores, different varieties, different sizes, organic or conventionally-grown. You name it, I tried it.
But no matter how much I have tried and how much I am still trying, this elusive amazing watermelon is still yet to arrive in my fridge.
So I thought, maybe I don’t know how to choose the best watermelon. In Romania it was a given that all watermelons were delicious. But maybe I need to learn here, in Canada, how to choose the best watermelon.
So what did I do to learn how to choose the best watermelon? I did what any sane person would have done. I asked Dr. Google. And this is what s/he told me:
7 tips on how to choose the best watermelon
- Hold it in your hands. If it feels heavy for its size, go to tip #2.
- Does the watermelon have a big yellow spot (and not white and small) formed when the melon sat on the ground, soaking the sun and ripened? If yes, go to tip #3.
- Does the watermelon have an innie (a small crater in one end where the vine used to be)? If it does, it means the vine detached on its own instead of being detached before the fruit was ripe. Go to tip #4.
- Look for webbing on the outside. This is caused when bees pollinate the flower and scar the membranes that later forms the fruit. The more pollination = more webbing = sweeter fruit.It’s a dark brown, web-looking hard parts. More webbing equals sweeter fruit. Go to tip #5.
- Tap the outside. If it sounds hollow (and not dull), go to tip #6.
- If you buy it from a farmers’ market, ask the farmer to choose it for you J.
- Don’t give up. Okay, Dr. Google didn’ tell me this, but I think if s/he knew my situation, s/he would have.
As you can see, I did not choose one or two tips. I chose to make a list of lots of tips to ensure that my search for a great watermelon will be fruitful. Make sure it has a prominent yellow spot. This is where it sat on the ground ripening. No spot = premature pick = not ripe.
My question for you is this: did you have any luck finding a great watermelon? If you did, share your tips below and please invite me and my family over. You provide the watermelon and we bring the rest of the food. We’ll have the best WATERMELON party EVER!
P.S. I’ll update you once I find a juicy and sweet watermelon. I hope it’s sooner than later.
I don’t think I’ve had a great watermelon since I was a kid! Good luck in your search and thanks for the tips Alina!
Colleen, thank you. I hope I’ll find one soon! I love your site and its name: Faith, hope, Love, and Luck – The search for creativity while being stalked by a psychotic cat. How cool is that?