(i’ve been rather constipated with writing lately. this is an attempt with a little laxative to get things moving again. without further ado…)
i’ve been buying watermelon for years. it’s been hit or miss for about the same length of time. sure, they’ve all been green on the outside and red on the inside. every watermelon i picked had the proper texture but most had a bland taste.
i knew that there had to we a better way. i consulted with one of the oracles of the internet, youtube, and as usual, i discovered a wealth of information. here are my 4 1/2 guidelines, used in order, to get the best watermelon possible.
1. yellow patch- i hope it comes as no surprise that watermelons grow on the ground. the patch is were the watermelon touches the ground. when watermelons are left to ripen on the vine, the patch turns yellow. when the watermelon has a white patch, it didn’t quite finish the ripening process. if there is no well defined patch, again, the watermelon didn’t finish ripening. when not left on the vine to ripen, sugar does not get a chance to set in to the fruit.
2. dark green- pick a dark green watermelon. look for forest green or even darker. some times a comparison may not be enough. the darkest green watermelon in the patch still may be not dark enough. the dark green color, again, helps to insure the sugar has set into the fruit.
3. round, not long- did you know that there are male and female watermelons? just like in real life, with a few exception like >>me!<<, the female is sweeter than the male. females or round and males are more elongated. go with the round females to gets better sugar content.
4. vein stripe-age- there are alternating colored veins on the watermelon. get veins that are uniform in shape and texture. sorry, i don’t have a reason for that other than that’s what youtube told me.
4 1/2. thumping-as watermelons ripen, they accumulate more water. the more water and mass in the riper watermelon will have a deeper sound. here’s why i don’t consider this one very viable. thump a small watermelon and will have a higher tone since it doesn’t have as much mass. thump a big watermelon and will have a lower tone since it has more mass. sure, a riper watermelon will have a deeper sound. That means a more ripe smaller watermelon may sound just deep as a less ripe bigger watermelon. for that reason, thumping is a comparative thing. compare two melons about the same size for tone and ripeness, otherwise your result may be inconsistent.
that’s it. follow these four and a half simple guidelines and you’ll end up with a sweeter and more tasty watermelon. I find about one in twenty watermelon fit the above criterion. since starting using these guidelines, i haven’t brought home a bland tasteless watermelon, yet.
facing off with the big d 