Picking the perfect Watermelon

Have you ever seen people walking around knocking on watermelons? Have you ever BEEN that person? 

When my boyfriend and I went to Colorado last year, we went into a Walmart where we saw a gentleman standing and trying to pick out a watermelon. On our way to the register some 15-20 minutes later, we noticed the same man STILL standing there (now with a small child) - I wasn't sure if the child was amused and he kept at it OR if he was hopelessly lost in trying to find the best melon for his family. 

In any case, I thought it would be beneficial to post a guide on buying the best watermelon. 

First, I normally would recommend going to a local farm over your local Walmart. The local farmers carefully select their fruits where a chain buys from a supplier who may or may not truly care about picking these beauties when they are truly ready. This is why there are so many disappointing melons out there as is. 

Once you found a stand or store heres what to look for: 

1. Look for a prominent yellow spot on one side -- this is where it sat on the ground ripening 

2. Look for 'webbing' - it is normally brown, course looking material. This is caused when bees pollinate the flower and scar the membranes that later form the fruit. The more pollen, the more webbing, the sweeter your melon! 

3. Look for black hard gobs - this is actually not insects or rotting it is actually sugar 

Basically, if your melon looks like its been through heck and back --- you may have a good melon on your hands. Do not confuse bruising or massive indents to be good damage though, stick to the tips above 

So why, you may ask do so many people bang on their melon? One common piece of advice passed around is that the more hollow a melon sounds, the more ripe it is. Personally, I'd rather inspect than beat up my fruit. But, whatever floats your boat ;) 

Happy Melon Hunting! 

Signed,

Tiesha