Pick The Right Watermelon By Looking At Its Base

When faced with a bunch of watermelons, all promising delicious juiciness inside, how do you know which one to pick? What About Watermelon, a site dedicated solely to the fruit, suggests you skip the tapping and instead check the base of the watermelon.

Photo by Clyde Robinson

Tapping a watermelon like a bongo might work for some people, but the site argues the process is too subjective: there’s no agreement on whether a watermelon is suposed to sound “solid” or “tight” or make a b-flat sound.

Instead, look for watermelons that are symmetrical and aren’t dented, are heavy for their size, and have a creamy yellow spot on the base:

Turn your watermelon over and check out its bottom, which should have a creamy yellow spot (also called “the ground spot”). This is where the watermelon sat on the ground while it soaked up the sun at the farm. If this spot is white or greenish, your watermelon may have been picked too soon and might not be as ripe as it should be.

Of course, ripeness may not matter if you just want to use your melon as a keg.

Do you thump watermelons or use some other magical fruit-picking method? Tell us in the comments.

How to Choose the “Right” Watermelon (And Why Tapping Doesn’t Work) [What About Watermelon via Reddit]