What Exactly Is Watermelon Webbing And What Does It Say About The Fruit Inside?

If you're like us, you have probably picked a bland watermelon once or twice in your life. Unfortunately, it's only after creatively cutting up your watermelon that you realize the fruit lacks flavor or sweetness for you. Even if the rind was a rich, vibrant green and the melon looked perfectly ripe, the fruit inside could still disappoint. One of the best-kept secrets to choosing a delicious watermelon every time is to look for something called watermelon webbing.

Webbing, sometimes called sugar spots, can be mistaken for blemishes or even rot if you don't know what to look for. They're rough, pale brown marks on the rind that look like scars or scratches. They may also appear in a web-like pattern, which is how they got their name. They're not rotted or damaged spots, however. In fact, their presence may mean you just found one of the ripest, sweetest melons available.

Watermelon webbing forms as a natural part of the pollination process. When bees pollinate the watermelon plant's flower, the resulting fruit later develops these web-like scars. The amount of webbing will increase the more a plant is pollinated. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in a post on X, the extra pollination makes the fruit grow better and results in a sweeter tasting melon. So, if you've been avoiding melons that are too scarred up because you think they've gone bad, you might have been passing up the sweetest ones.

According to the University of Delaware, a watermelon flower needs to be fertilized with between 500 and 1,000 grains of pollen to develop properly. That requires at least eight visits from bees. The more visits a flower receives, the greater the chance that it will get fully pollinated and produce a high-quality melon. Melons that are under-pollinated tend to be smaller or malformed and are less flavorful. A 2020 study published in Ecology and Evolution confirms that watermelons that receive extra pollination contain more sugar.

Not everyone agrees that webbing guarantees a melon will be sweeter, though. Also, there are other factors to consider when choosing the best watermelon. For one, you should look for a darker colored field spot, which is the part of the melon that was on the ground while it ripened. If the spot is white, it means the melon was picked too early, so you should avoid it. Try to find a yellow or even a light orange spot. Combined with some webbing, this should ensure a much sweeter, better-tasting melon. 

You should also look for a melon that is an even size and shape. Whether round or oval, it shouldn't be misshapen or pointy at the ends — those are signs of an inferior-tasting melon. Pay attention to the rind, too. If it's shiny, it may look more appealing, but that's usually a sign of an unripe melon. The duller and darker the rind, the riper it is and the more likely it is to taste better. Put all these factors together, and you should be able to pick a perfect melon every time. After that, all you have to do is choose one of these 17 ways you need to try eating watermelon.