Amish Farmer Shares Tips For Selecting The Best Watermelons In Utah

We have all stood in the grocery stores tapping watermelons hoping some ancient wisdom will let us know if it is a good one. This Amish farmer gives modern Utahns the secrets from the past to know if a melon is red and juicy inside.

7 Tests To Finding the Perfect Watermelon

The claim is that people in past knew how to pick out a melon and the one's harvesting them knew when it was the right time to pull it from the vine. Follow this advice to find the perfect melon for this summer's gatherings.

Yellow Spot

The spot left from the ground should be yellow. https://youtu.be/6jZ7ib2Edes?si=iyEjAXgLHs6-_3xj

There should be a big circle on the side of a watermelon where it sat on the ground. If the circle is white or if it doesn't have one, it was picked too soon. Look for a yellow spot. He says this is the most important test.

Small Dried Vine

Dried up vine when ripe. https://youtu.be/6jZ7ib2Edes?si=iyEjAXgLHs6-_3xj

If it has a vine on it and it is dried out that is a good sign. When a melon is ripe, the vine dries up. If the stem is green it was harvested before it was ripe. However, most grocery stores take the vine off.

The Rind Gives

Rind pushes in slightly. https://youtu.be/6jZ7ib2Edes?si=iyEjAXgLHs6-_3xj

If the rind will press in slightly it indicates there is juiciness inside. If it is hard as a rock or if it gives too much, it will not taste good.

The Thump

The sound it makes when thumped. https://youtu.be/6jZ7ib2Edes?si=iyEjAXgLHs6-_3xj

This is the one most of us know do, but have no idea what it should sound like. Thump it with your knuckle like you were knocking on a door. If it makes a deep hollow sound, that is what you want. A flat thud or soft mushy sound is not a good sign.

Heaviness

It should feel heavier than you expect. It means it is juicy and ripe.

Features That Show the Bees Like the Melon

Bees pollinate the melons. If the bees found the melon sweet, they visited more. This means it will be symmetrical and not have any funny parts to it. There will also be small brown lines on the rind where the bees left their mark.

Brown marks from bees. https://youtu.be/6jZ7ib2Edes?si=iyEjAXgLHs6-_3xj

Now you know how to find a good melon every time according to this Amish farmer. That's a lot better than standing in the store slapping the rinds hoping some ancient knowledge will hit you and you will somehow get a good one.