Thumpin' Watermelons

We've all seen it, whether at the grocery store or the farmers' market - people thumping, tapping, flicking, sniffing, or otherwise inspecting watermelons trying to tell if they're ripe or not. I always ask people what they're listening for, because to me, it all kind of sounds the same. According to the experts, a ripe watermelon should sound hollow when you thump it. What hollow sounds like, though, seems a bit subjective.



I don't mind if you thump our melons (just don't thump too hard because it might pop!), but you can rest assured knowing that we pick all our watermelons completely ripe. Watermelons actually have a cool little built-in indicator that tells you exactly when each individual melon should be picked. Next to where the stem connects to the melon, there is a little tendril that is bright green throughout the development of the fruit. Picture a little, green pig's tail. Once the melon is ripe, the tendril immediately dries up and turns brown and brittle. Here's a picture of a dried tendril:



Once the tendril dries, the melons have to be cut from the vine - they don't slip off, so you don't need to look for melons that have no stem. I've also heard that a ripe melon will show sugar crystals if you nick the skin, but I haven't tested that hypothesis yet. I'll let you know what I find once I do.

Other interesting watermelon facts:

Watermelons don't ripen once they are picked.

Watermelons are extremely fragile when fully ripe. They will split, pop, or crack if handled too roughly. That means that ripe watermelons really don't work with the conventional food/grocery business in which produce is handled a lot, shipped long distances, and stored for periods of time. Watermelons in your average grocery store have to be picked under-ripe in order to make it to their destinations in one piece. The upside is attractive watermelons in the supermarket. The downside is watermelons that are mealy and don't taste very good.

If watermelons are handled too roughly, it ruins the texture, making them mealy or mushy. Be warned that if you see your watermelon purveyor dropping boxes of melons or letting them bounce around, they might be questionable.

Despite all these warnings, you can 100% trust our watermelons. If, by some fluke of nature, you end up with a melon that is sub par, we'll always give you another one. That's called integrity.