An Expert Says This Is The Fruit Shoppers Choose Incorrectly Most Often

When staring down rows, bins, and buckets of fresh supermarket fruits, some are easier to choose than others. That's especially true if you can actually see, feel, and smell the produce, like with grapes, berries, peaches, or even apples. But things get a lot trickier when juicy edible parts hide beneath super-thick rinds or tough textured skins. With peak summer fruit season in full swing, we reached out to an expert who revealed the one fruit that shoppers most often choose incorrectly: watermelon.

According to Megan McCarthy, edible garden chef at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, founder of Healthy Eating 101, and a Have A Plant ambassador, there are a couple reasons watermelons are so often misjudged. "Many shoppers rely on knocking or tapping the melon, but unless you've handled thousands of watermelons, it's difficult to interpret what you're hearing," McCarthy said. She added that shoppers also tend to rely too much on a watermelon's size or shiny exterior, even though those traits don't necessarily indicate ripeness.

Instead, McCarthy recommends a comprehensive approach by looking for several visual cues. First is a large, yellow (not white) "field spot," which indicates the melon was given time to ripen naturally in on the ground before it was picked. The next two things you want are a uniform shape and a dull, matte rind, rather than a shiny one. Then there's the stem. "A dry, brown stem, if it's still attached, can mean the fruit matured on the vine before harvest," she said.  

Finally, McCarthy recommends looking for a watermelon that feels surprisingly heavy for its size, since that indicates high water content and juiciness. She added, "When several of these signs line up, your chances of bringing home a sweet, juicy watermelon are much higher."

As a chef who cooks seasonal produce weekly, McCarthy noted that freshness and proper ripeness will almost always beat size alone. She highly recommends "slowing down and letting your eyes, ears, hands, and even your nose guide you. This often leads to better fruit than simply reaching for the biggest or prettiest one."

Watermelons, the gentle giants of summer eating, have been perfected over many years by cultivation and cross-breeding, leading to the juicy, nutritious melons we know today. That includes the seedless versions that most folks expect. But McCarthy shared a different perspective. "Make sure the kids learn how to spit watermelon seeds and not just get spoiled with seedless all the time," she said. "We only had seeded watermelons when we were kids, and they seemed to taste a whole lot better." And as a final word of advice, she reminds shoppers to wash their watermelons before slicing them open: "...do you know how many people slapped that watermelon before you did? Just sayin'."

With these tips in mind, you'll be better prepared to bring home a watermelon that's actually worth slicing into. You can also explore more ways to pick the perfect watermelon and discover some of the sweetest varieties, including Crimson Sweet, Charleston Gray, Orangeglo, and the world-famous — and extraordinarily expensive — Densuke watermelon.