How to pick the right watermelon

Photo by Steve Evans

Here in Maldives, in no month do we consume as much watermelon as we do during Ramadan, and for this week’s feature article, we are going to talk a little bit about how we can choose the reddest and the perfectly ripest ones from them all.

Pick the watermelon up!

This is one of the first things you should do when attempting to choose a watermelon; pick some up and see how they feel. A ripe watermelon would feel heavy for it’s size. The heavier it is the more water it has and the riper it is.

Avoid shiny ones

Yes we do get drawn to shiny objects. But in the case of a watermelon, a shiny rind means it’s not ripe yet. The rind of a ripe watermelon would have a dark green colour and would actually look dull.

Look for yellow

There’s a spot on the watermelon called the field spot; it’s where the watermelon was resting on the ground. If the spot is white, it means it’s nowhere near ripe. A creamy and buttery colour means it’s ripe to an ok level, while darker yellows mean it’s really ripe.

Tap the watermelon

This might be the most challenging of the tips here in this article. You have to use your knuckles for this and really listen. When you tap the watermelon and it makes a high sound, that means it’s not ripe at all. If the sound is dull and deep, it means the watermelon is too ripe. So what we are looking for is a sound somewhere in between these too.

Shape matters

Watermelons can be both oval and round, but check whether there are any odd parts or bumps. Odd shapes mean they had inconsistent amounts of water and sun when they were growing and they might taste dry and chalky.