Watermelon Season, Shopping Tips,

Every summer these green orbs show up at every grocery store, fruit stand and family picnic. Sometimes they taste great and other times they can leave you sad and wishing for 'more.'

How can you at least make a few good choices before you buy that watermelon to help hedge your bets?

Remember the following, look, lift and knock.

Look at the melon, is it bright or dull? Bright is the sign of an under ripe melon. Think of it this way, if it's bright, it didn't have enough time on the vine to ripen.
Lift the melon, is it heavy for it's size? You want some weight on that bad boy. Ones that are heavy for their size show that there is more development of sugars, thus ripeness. When you have the melon lifted, is there a big creamy looking spot on the bottom of the melon? This is where is 'sat' on the ground while it was growing. The whiter the spot, the less time that it was on the vine ripening. Look for a more creamy colored yellow green. With that additional color development, the melon got to stay on the vine ripening. If the color is paler, the melon will have had less time to grow and not ripen.
Lastly, some people like to knock on the melon. What are they listening for and why? I have spoken to people who swear by this method. If you are a melon knocker, than you will want to be listening for a 'full sound' not a thud. A thud is a dud. A thud imply's that the melon is not ripe. The melon should be firm and its flesh not resistant to the knock.

Use these tips the next time you purchase a watermelon, hopefully you will end up with 'a winner' every time. Enjoy your summer.