Fascinating. There are over 350 comments so far.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/1kcftt8/watermelon_misconceptions/
Yellow/tan patch on the bottom - This is mostly true. That is a contact
spot where the watermelon rests on the soil. Different varieties have
different color patches. Some can be a golden color while others can be
more tan or white. Size of the patch does not matter
A watermelon should feel heavy for it's size - This is correct but
doesn't always mean sweetness. Contrary to what you might think
watermelons don't like extremely wet growing environments or lots of
rain. Watermelons grow the best in dry hot climates. A light watermelon
might mean a watermelon has hollow heart (when you cut a watermelon open
and the inside has separated). So you do always want it to fill heavy to
ensure solid fruit. Also think of a watermelon like a sponge. The more rain/watering you do the more water is absorbed and the less sweet the watermelon will be. Usually in very dry growing seasons the watermelons
are much sweeter. Again you can have a very heavy cardboard tasting
watermelon. It's all about the correct amount of water
Slapping/thumping - This is 100% correct. You want it to sound like it's "full". Almost has a reverberation type sound. A flat sound like
slapping the floor with your hand means it's bruised inside or has
hollow heart. You do this with an open hand. This is also how we grade
out bad ones while packing
Darker watermelons aren't as sweet - completely false. Watermelon
varieties have different colors and rind patterns. That has nothing to
do with sweetness
Seedless watermelons are GMO - completely false. There is no such thing
as a GMO watermelon. Seedless is created with cross breeding different varieties. Similar to getting different breeds of mixed dogs or cats
Farmer's Markets - just wanted to add this. Some watermelons at farmer's markets throughout the country truly are grown by the hard working
people you see managing the stands. However, most aren't. Most
watermelons sold at farmer's markets are grade outs from farms like
ours. We can't ship them to your local grocery store due to
external/internal blemishes. Most chain stores have strict requirements
on shipments and are inspected at every delivery before being received.
They reject if we don't meet those requirements. This could be scarring,
insect damage, bruising, hollow heart, sun burn, low sugar content
ect... Most of these go to local cows who greatly enjoy eating them.
Others are picked up and bought from us at a discount. They are then
taken to farmer's markets and sold in bulk where they are then sold to
the consumer. Ugly watermelons don't mean home grown most of the time.
They mean we couldn't ship them to our customers
Shape (round, short, thin, fat) affects quality - it doesn't. Has
nothing to do with anything quality related. Some farmers just like
different varieties. Some are more shaped like a ball. Some or more
shaped like a football. This hasn't nothing to do with quality. Ripples
on the the rind/triangle shaped watermelons however can mean hollow
heart but not always. You can always use the thump test to confirm.
Watermelons can also be oddly shaped due to wind damage during growing.
This also doesn't affect quality most of the time but we grade them out
because no one will buy them
Shiny watermelon means wax is added for appearance - Completely false.
Some varieties are shiner than others. It's that simple
Webbing, scarring, ugly marks = good watermelon - completely false. This
has nothing to do with internal quality. Webbing in watermelon is caused
by wind scars. When watermelons are young and the wind is blowing, dirt
and the plant itself will hit the watermelon. As it grows it will show
rind scars and webbing where that occurred. Some scarring is caused by
insects which eats the external rind. Cucumber beetles would we one such
pest. External scars and webbing have nothing to do with internal
quality. It only affects outside appearance
Hollow heart watermelons are overripe - completely false. This is caused
by stress during growing. Could be poor weather, poor pollination, too
much fertilizer ect. They are perfectly safe to eat and I feel sometimes
they are sweeter than others as the sugar around the heart is more
concentrated due to the hollow middle
Rind stripes can show ripeness - this is true. You are almost looking
for a white "break" on the rind stripe. It almost looks like a digital
pattern. This will show that is ripe and ready for harvest. We also
check in the fields by looking for dead tendrils on the vine. You can do
this at home as well if you grow them yourself. Darker varieties make
the rind patterns more difficult to see so we use many different ways to
tell if a watermelon is ripe for harvest
Watermelons will continue to ripen off the vine - This is true (edit but
they aren’t technically ripening). And if you leave it outside for a day
or so it will increase sugar concentration as extra water inside will
escape. Just don't leave it in the hot sun or you will have problems.
They don't like direct sunlight once they are harvested Edit - the
perceived ripening is actually just increasing sugar concentration. As
the water permeates through the rind, the sugar concentration inside the
cells becomes higher
Elongated watermelons are watery - completely false. Again shape has
little if not anything to do with taste
Seeded watermelons have better nutrition - completely false. We grow
both seeded and seedless. Both have same nutritional content.
(snip)
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