There are many reasons to love the warm weather of summer but perhaps one of the top reasons is enjoying a good piece of watermelon. I can remember enjoying watermelon in the summer sun ever since I was a young child and it makes up some of my fondest memories. There was nothing quite like running through the grass in your bare feet, eating that juicy piece of watermelon and spitting the seeds. It’s something that we want to pass on to our children as well, but in order to do it, we need to choose the right watermelon.
That leads to a problem, because choosing the perfect watermelon is not always as easy as you would think. Gone are the days when every watermelon was ready, ripe and delicious. You need to be very choosy because you don’t know what you are going to find until you actually open the watermelon. It turns out, however, that there are a few ways to choose a watermelon that will make it easier for you to pick the perfect one. Here are 5 from a farmer that knows the truth.
1. Field Spot – The first thing you need to look for when viewing a watermelon at the market is the white spot. These spots, which are called field spots, are a natural occurrence. It shows up where the watermelon was resting on the ground and every watermelon will have one. Look for one that has a creamy yellow or orange-yellow spot. You won’t be disappointed.
2. Webbing – Watermelons have webbing and it allows you to know how many times watermelons were pollinated by the bees. When they were pollinated frequently, they will be sweeter.
3. Gender – It would probably come as a surprise to you that there are ‘boy’ watermelons and ‘girl’ watermelons. The girl watermelons tend to be short and round while the boy watermelon are more elongated. Girl watermelons are sweeter and boy watermelons tend to be watery.
4. Size – Most people would think that bigger is better and you certainly want to get your money’s worth. The reality of the situation, however, is that an average size watermelon is best. Don’t go for one that is too large or too small.
5. Tail – Look for the tail of the watermelon because it will tell you if it stayed in the field until it was ripe. When the tail is green, it means the watermelon was picked too early and it won’t have that sweet taste. Look for tails that are dried and you will more likely find that the fruit is sweet.
Watch this video for more tips:
Source: Shareably