When it comes to certain types of fruit and vegetables, knowing how to pick them is very important. There is nothing worse than spending money on a product and then coming home to find that it has gone bad or won’t be ripe for several days. When buying watermelons, look for the following six characteristics that will tell you that the watermelon you are holding is best left on the shelf.
1. Green Stem
Although you may think that a green stem indicates a healthy watermelon, this actually means that the watermelon is far from ripe. Instead, look for watermelons with brown, dry stems.
2. Not Very Heavy
If your watermelon feels light when you pick it up, it is because its water content is not very high. You want a watermelon that feels a bit heavy, because the fruit will be juicier.
3. Oval Shape
This one is more based on preference, but the rounder the watermelon is, the sweeter it will be. If you like sweet watermelon, leave the long, oval ones on the shelf.
4. Cracked
If a watermelon has a crack in it, you certainly don’t want to take it home. The crack will lead the fruit to rot, and is often accompanied by mold. Yuck!
5. Not Hollow
Knocking gently on a watermelon indicates the quality of the fruit inside. If you knock and the sound is hollow, the watermelon is juicy and ready to eat. If it does not sound hollow, you should leave it there.
6. No Field Spot
Most watermelons have a yellow or white spot on one of their sides. This doesn’t mean the watermelon is unhealthy — it’s simply the part of the watermelon that sat on the soil in the field. If a watermelon has no field spot, it wasn’t left to ripen long enough before being picked.
