GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Do Picked Watermelons Coontinue to Ripen?

21-06-2006, 03:46 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible

(---Pete---) wrote:

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:54:29 GMT, (Harry
Chickpea) wrote:

Never noticed it. Look for a big whitish yellow patch on the bottom.
IMO, the uglier and scabbier that patch, the more chance it tastes
good. I can't tell ripeness by smell the way I can with cantaloupe,
but some folks say that the less a watermelon shines the more ripe it
is.
----
Thanks for the tips. I'm pretty good at picking out quality fruits
but not so lucky with watermelons. I usually look for the patch
at the bottom and I thump on it to listen for a certain sound.
I'm not even sure what I'm listening for, but if it sounds like a
ringing sound as opposed to dull thud, I choose that one.
Is that correct?

More or less. I'd call it a hollow sound, but that is splitting hairs.
You are hearing the hard rind and watery inside. I've not had as much
success with thumping on watermelons as on the smaller melons with a
defined seed cavity. The only real way to tell ripeness is to take
out a slice and taste it. :-) If you get an unripe one from a store,
complain to the produce manager, and have him open the next one you
want, so you can both taste that it is ripe. If he won't do this, get
the store manager or change stores - a produce manager is supposed to
be more than a glorified stock boy. If the store got stuck with
unripe melons, that is not your problem, and a good produce manager
will pull them for credit rather than lose customer confidence. If
you are growing watermelons, the simple answer is to wait for the
maturity days listed on the seed packet, no matter how hungry you are.