A Guide to Picking the Perfect Texas Watermelon

One of my favorite summer snacks is a delicious, sweet, juicy watermelon complemented with a tiny sprinkle of sea salt. It is so refreshing, especially on a hot day. The only problem is making sure you pick a good melon to avoid ending up disappointed.

There are so many tips and tricks out there to pick a good melon. Some people tap on it and listen for a hollow sound, others go by the weight, the color, and a variety of other factors. Some of these tricks do actually hold a bit of truth in them. You just have to make sure you are looking for the right things.

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In order to make sure you are on the right track, and pick the best watermelons possible, here are some things to look out for.

Shape

When looking for the best melon, you want to pick one that has the most uniform shape and is relatively heavy. These melons will be sweeter than light, elongated melons which tend to be more watery.

Field Spot

Never shy away from a watermelon that has what looks like a blemish on its skin. You will often see field spots which are where the melon was lying on the ground. You want to pick the watermelon with an orange spot for the one with the most flavor. Avoid ones with a white spot, as those will have little to no flavor at all.

Webbing

Another ‘blemish’ that is a good indicator of the melon’s quality is the webbing. These are the rough scar-like markings along the melon. Smaller webbing indicates a blander melon, while larger webbing tends to mean the watermelon is sweeter.

Color

Last, but not least, you want to pick dark and non-shiny watermelons. These ones are ripe, compared to their shiny and lighter-colored counterparts.

The Best Watermelon

Taking all of this into consideration, the best watermelon will be heavy, round, dark, non-shiny, with large webbing and an orange field spot.