To avoid buying an under-ripe, mealy-textured watermelon, stick with these three simple steps:
- See if it feels heavy. Lift up the watermelon and see how heavy it feels.
- Look for the spot. Watermelons have a spot where they rest on the ground.
- Tap it. Give the underside of the watermelon a good thump.
How do you pick a non mealy watermelon?
Choosing and storing: A flavorful melon will be full of water, so it should feel heavy for its size. A lighter melon may be dry or mealy inside. When you rap the side of a watermelon with your knuckles, it should have a resonant, hollow sound. A dull sound means the melon is underripe.
Why is my watermelon mealy?
If your watermelon isn’t ripe, the flavor is pretty blah and there’s not much you can do with it. But when watermelon gets overripe, it starts loosing moisture and the texture changes from crisp and juicy to dry and mealy.
Why does my watermelon have a grainy texture?
When a watermelon becomes too ripe for its own good, the flesh’s juicy crisp texture can become gritty and dry. If you cut it open, you may notice the flesh pulling away from the seeds. Of course, if the watermelon is so ripe that it is rotting, you should not eat it.
How do you pick a crisp watermelon?
You should pick a melon that has a strong, consistent stripe pattern. The green stripes should be a deep, dark green, while the pale stripes should be a creamy, light yellow. Additionally, you may want to choose a dull-looking watermelon. If the melon is very shiny, it is likely underripe.
How do you pick a good watermelon at the grocery store?
Look for the yellow spot: Watermelons develop a splotch where they rest on the ground. When this splotch is creamy yellow, it’s ripe. Give it a thump: Tap the underbelly of the watermelon. A ripe one will have a deep hollow sound, which means it is brimming with juice and at the peak of its ripeness.
Why is my watermelon so mushy?
The inside of the melon should not be mushy. A mushy watermelon is due to air exposure inside the watermelon. If your watermelon is slimy, mushy, or discolored, toss it.
When should you not eat a watermelon?
If the flesh has noticeable dark spots or is covered in anything slimey, you should toss it. If it looks fine but has a sour or ~off~ smell, that’s another indication that this watermelon is no good.
How do you know when a watermelon is ready to pick?
Answer: Harvest watermelons when the underside or belly of the fruit turns from a greenish white to buttery yellow or cream. This color change is especially pronounced on the dark green skinned varieties. In addition, the fruit tends to lose its slick appearance on top and becomes dull when ripe.
How can you tell a good watermelon from a bad watermelon?
A ripe watermelon should have a thick rind that doesn’t give easily when pressured. The ones that do are generally overripe. Also, if you scratch it with your thumbnail, you shouldn’t be able to cut through it. A ripe watermelon should have a firm rind that doesn’t give to pressure and is not easily scratched.
How do you make watermelon taste better?
A small sprinkle of salt doesn’t just offer a salty-sweet kick, it also brings out the sweetness in the watermelon, making this the perfect hack for when you dig into a lackluster slice. Trust me, I’ve had people FREAK over this simple trick; it’s a game-changer.
What can I make with pithy watermelon?
Super ripe melon is actually ideal for making agua fresca, so if you end up with one that’s overripe and mealy, think about doing this first. To make melon agua fresca, put your melon in a blender with sugar, water, and lime juice, and blend until smooth.
What can I do with watermelon that is not so good?
Dealing With Bland Watermelon
If you slice in and are disappointed with the flavor, we’ve found that adding lime zest and juice helps pump it up and honestly… adding a little sugar does too. To make these drinks we pureed the food milled watermelon with sugar, ice and lime juice for a sweet treat.
What color watermelon is the sweetest?
yellow
According to the experts at the Watermelon Board, yellow and orange watermelons are generally sweeter than those with pink or red flesh. Seedless watermelons tend to have a crisper texture than those with seeds, they add.
What is the best tasting watermelon?
25 of the Best Watermelon Varieties
- Picnic. Allsweet. Charleston Gray. Crimson Sweet.
- Icebox. Blacktail Mountain. Bush Sugar Baby. Sweet Beauty.
- Personal. Golden Midget. Little Darling.
- Giant. Black Diamond Yellow Belly. Carolina Cross #183.
- Seedless. Big Tasty. Mini Piccolo.
- Orange, Yellow, or White Flesh. Orange Crisp. Orangeglo.
What is the sweetest watermelon?
Sultan. Sultan is one of the sweetest varieties you’ll find, this one measures 12.3 on the Brix scale. The fruits average 15 pounds and ripen within 95 days.
What does webbing on watermelon mean?
PA Department of Agriculture on Twitter: “The webbing on a watermelon, the more a bee pollinated the flower. The more pollination, the sweeter the fruit!
Should watermelon spot be yellow or white?
If the watermelon is ripe, the field spot should be a large, yellow patch on one side of the melon. If it is ripe, the color should be a creamy, almost butter-like yellow. The bigger the yellow belly and the creamier the color means the more time the melon spent ripening on the vine.
Is it OK to eat a soft watermelon?
Eating overripe watermelon should not have any consequences; however, if you purchase a watermelon and find it yucky on the inside return it to the store for a replacement.
Can mushy watermelon make you sick?
Consuming spoiled watermelon can quickly lead to food poisoning. The first signs that something is wrong will appear within a few hours and include: Fatigue and headache. Nausea and vomiting.
How long is watermelon good in fridge?
If you’re worried about your watermelon spoiling, you can pop the whole thing in the fridge; FreshDirect says that you can keep a whole watermelon in the fridge for up to three weeks, at best.