I began my journalism career with Entrepreneur magazine with a focus on small business technology. As a freelance journalist, I’ve covered gadgets, geek culture, public schools, weird foods, transatlantic travel and Route 66.
Watermelon is the unofficial fruit mascot of summer in the U.S. Seeded, seedless, red, yellow. You’ll find them at the grocery store, farmers’ market or growing in your garden, if you’re lucky. But every watermelon is an enigma. What’s hiding under that stripy green exterior? Is it sweet and ripe? Or is it tasteless and mealy? Two watermelon-studying scientists dish on their secrets for picking the perfect fruit.
Choosing a watermelon can feel like an elaborate guessing game. Heft. Thump. Inspect. Hope. You don’t get an answer until you’ve paid and gotten the fruit home. Here are some scientist-approved tips for finding a watermelon that won’t disappoint.is a horticultural scientist at North Carolina State University. She’s investigated the health benefits of watermelons and even experimented with a
Perkins-Veazie has different methods depending on whether you’re harvesting from the field or trying your luck at the store. In the field , start with the tendril and leaves. “The first and preferably three tendrils nearest the watermelon fruit should be dead,” she says. “The other subtle ripeness indicators are changes in the wax sheen on the fruit and the appearance of slightly raised ridges that follow the stripes on a watermelon rind.
You have less information to go on when buying a watermelon at a market. “In the store, the tendril test won't work, but often the first thing I look for is the ground spot,” says Perkins-Veazie. “This is the yellow spot on the underside of the fruit where it was in contact with the ground or plastic. I like to see a deep yellow color here.” Look for a watermelon that feels heavy for its size, indicating more water is present.
Watermelons aren’t just delicious; they’re fascinating, and scientists are still learning new information about them. For example, we might get a coyote-inspired ripeness-detection system someday. “One of the more surprising things I found in our research plots back in Oklahoma was that coyotes can smell when watermelons are ripening, usually a week before we are ready to harvest,” says Perkins-Veazie.
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