Summer is the perfect season to eat the most delicious melons. Very nice, but how do you make sure you don’t take home a watery, tasteless melon? These tips will help you identify a ripe melon.
The peel
First of all, of course, you always look at the skin, because with that knowledge you often have to estimate whether it is a tasty melon. A melon that is harvested too early will never ripen again. It does not continue to ripen after the harvest. So if the skin looks too bright green or yellow: don’t do it. A cantaloupe also doesn’t keep for more than four to six days, so brown spots are never a good sign.
With a watermelon, a spot can be a good sign. A ripe watermelon that is ready to be cut open often has a yellow spot on the skin. This spot indicates that the watermelon has been placed on the ground to ripen in the sun.
The weight
Another sign that you’ve got your hands on a ripe melon is its weight. When you get the impression that the melon is much heavier than it looks when you pick it up, you know you’re in the right place. Often the following applies: the heavier the melon, the riper it is. Too light in weight means that the melon is either not yet ripe or is overripe and is drying up.
The ‘knock method’
Knocking on a watermelon: It feels crazy and not everyone is convinced that it is an effective method. Still, there are experts who swear by this “knock method,” so it’s worth a try. Pick up the melon and tap on the side. If a melon sounds too massive or dull, it’s not a good sign. Then it can still be white inside or too soft. A hollow sound means that there is enough moisture in the pulp. However, this does not always mean that the watermelon is also sweet. It’s all about ripeness and not all ripe watermelons are equally sweet.
