The Truth Behind The Tapping Technique For Watermelons
By JOHN J LEE
Food - Drink
With summer in full swing, plenty of people are picking up that ruby-red crown jewel of summer, the watermelon. Since it doesn't continue to ripen once it's removed from its vine, you want to make absolutely sure that the melons you're getting are the best of the lot.
A lot of people will try to figure out if a watermelon is ripe by tapping it or smacking it and listening to the sound it makes. Even if it sounds like an urban legend, there is some truth to this melon-tapping, which you can do by simply tapping on the watermelon with your finger and listening.
What you’re looking for is pitch — specifically whether you hear back a hollow sound (which means it's ripe) or one that's more similar to a ring (which means it's less ripe). If you hear a low thud, that’s a sign that the watermelon has over-ripened.