The #1 Way To Tell if a Watermelon is Ripe

When you think “quintessential summer fruit,” chances are, you picture a sweet, juicy watermelon. In its prime, a melon can taste more like a light, refreshing dessert than produce (along with quenching your thirst). But even in the summer months, a 10/10 watermelon can be hard to come by.

Unlike, say, bananas, it’s not always easy to pinpoint which watermelon is going to bring that delicate, crunchy sweetness you’re looking for (without cutting into it). And there’s nothing more annoying than cutting into one half an hour before your cookout and realizing it’s either past its prime or not ripe enough. Luckily, with a few extra minutes in the produce aisle, you can find out which watermelon is worthy of bringing home.

The BEST Way to Choose a Ripe Watermelon

If you talk to a produce expert or chef, there are actually a few tried-and-true methods of determining whether a watermelon is ready to eat. I sat with Josh Alsberg, the founder of Rubinette Produce Market in Portland, OR, and he shared that the most reliable test involves knocking on the outside of the watermelon’s rind with your hand.

“A ripe watermelon is supposed to have a hollow door-type sound to it, but I’ve also noticed feeling a vibration when I slap it with my open hand,” Alsberg says. If the melon is too ripe, it’ll sound like a thud with no vibration when you hit it.

How to Slice A Watermelon

But Wait, There's More!

Feel a little silly slapping the produce at your local grocery store or farm stand? Alsberg has a few other ripeness tests up his sleeve. Ripe watermelons, he says, often have big, yellow spots called “field spots.” The darker the spot, generally, the better the watermelon’s flavor is going to be. “If it’s been sitting for a while sugaring up, it’ll be nice and yellow or orange,” he says.

For Perfect Fruit, Look for Imperfections

A more recent tip Alsberg has picked up on also involves visual inspection of the watermelon rind. Instead of focusing on a big yellow spot, look for scaly, webby brown areas called “pollen points.” Apparently, the more webbing a watermelon has on it, the sweeter it’ll be. “The exterior of the fruit won’t be cosmetically perfect, and that’s exactly what you’re looking for,” Alsberg says. Some melons will have both a yellow spot and webbing.

Next time you’re looking for a perfect watermelon, you can try any of these tests — but Alsberg says going by sound is the most reliable, since not all watermelons have field spots or webbing on them, but the absence of those doesn’t necessarily mean the melon isn’t ripe.

Our Favorite Watermelon Recipes

Watermelon Salad With Mint and Feta

Watermelon Granita

Watermelon Gazpacho