*This How to Pick the Perfect Watermelon post contains affiliate links
Watermelons are 92% water by weight. That makes them cool and refreshing. Perfect for the summer time, they will help keep you hydrated on hot days.
Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C, a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, magnesium, and potassium. A whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories. It delivers more nutrients per calorie, which is an outstanding health benefit!
Have you ever cut into a watermelon and it wasn’t what you expected? And then you tasted it. It wasn’t sweet and didn’t taste good at all. I know I have!
Here are five tips to help you pick the perfect watermelon.
How to Pick the Perfect Watermelon
Pick the watermelon up. Is it heavy for it’s size? You want to pick up a watermelon and say, Wow! That’s heavy! A watermelon heavy for it’s size will be nice and juicy inside.
Tap on the watermelon. It should sound hollow when you knock on it. It should be an echoing, hollow sound, not a thud.
Look for a watermelon that has a prominent yellow spot. This is where it sat on the ground ripening. If it doesn’t have a yellow spot, it was picked before it ripened.
Look for “webbing” on the watermelon. This is the brown, course web looking material on the surface of the watermelon. This is caused when bees pollinate the flower and scar the membranes that later forms the fruit. Watermelons that have more webbing are usually sweeter than watermelons with no webbing.
Look for black, hard globs on the surface of the watermelon. The watermelons in my store didn’t have any, so no picture, but you should look for black, hard globs on the surface of the watermelon. Those globs are sugar seeping out. Which means you will have a sweeter watermelon.
Using these tips will help you find the perfect watermelon. Sweet, Juicy goodness that is so good for you.
I think it’s a southern thing, but I like salt on my watermelon!
Let me help you prepare for your next cookout!
Check out these watermelon tools!
*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the links, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Thanks for sharing these tips! I’ve learned so much and look forward to picking the perfect watermelon the next time I go buy one. My 15 year old LOVES watermelons but all too often it’s not quite as yummy as she’d been dreaming it would be.