How to Pick the Best Watermelon

Liz Vaccarriello: Hi, I’m Liz Vaccarriello, Editor of Prevention and you’re watching
In the kitchen with Liz and Jennifer Iserloh, the Skinny Chef.

Jennifer Iserloh: Thanks Liz. It’s great to be here.

Liz Vaccarriello: Today, Jennifer has going to show us how to choose a ripe melon
at the supermarket and you say you have to sniff, shake and
squeeze. I’ve got to hear about this.

Jennifer Iserloh: It sounds like an oldies tune, right?

Liz Vaccarriello: Yes. It does, exactly.

Jennifer Iserloh: So with your melon especially MAS melons and cantaloupes, you
always want to give them a quick sniff. They should smell like
fragrant flowers.

Liz Vaccarriello: That makes sense.

Jennifer Iserloh: Then you know they’re going to be ripe. Now, if they don’t, you
can still buy them and let them sit down in your counter top for a
couple of days and as they ripen, they’re going to get more and
more fragrant. Now, sadly, that does not work with water melons
but I’m going to show you a trick for that in just a minutes.

Liz Vaccarriello: Okay.

Jennifer Iserloh: So, what about shaking? Shaking especially cantaloupes, you give
it a shake, if the seeds are loose, it means the inside is ripe.

Liz Vaccarriello: I got it.

Jennifer Iserloh: Squeeze. This works especially while with cantaloupes and with
honeydews. You want them give them a light squeeze. They
shouldn’t be as hard as a rock. They should give just a little bit
under your finger tips but not too much. You want to make sure
that they’re not squealing.

Liz Vaccarriello: Anywhere on the melon or at the tips?

Jennifer Iserloh: I do it on the sides actually.

Liz Vaccarriello: Oh. Terrific! That’s a great advice Jennifer and what about this
water melon?
Jennifer Iserloh: This isn’t shake, sniff or squeeze. It’s the thud test. So, you just
want to give it a little knock. It should sound like a dull thud not a
hallow sound. Then you know it’s nice and juicy and ripe. You can
also compare two water melons to see which one is heavier. The
heavier one is going to be the ripe one.

Liz Vaccarriello: Because it’s full of juice.

Jennifer Iserloh: Right.

Liz Vaccarriello: Terrific!

Jennifer Iserloh: Also look for this little scratch marks here. This is an indication
that it’s been pollinated by bees. You see a dent on there, you
might want to avoid that since it would spoil on the counter but the
scratch marks are great things to look for.

Liz Vaccarriello: So the imperfections are a good thing. Wow! You’ve been
watching another episode of In the Kitchen with Liz.