You know what I hate? Buying one a huge watermelon, lugging it around the store, out to the car, and into your home. You’re all excited when you cut into it — only to find that the fruit isn’t even ripe.

What a bummer.

This frustrating situation isn’t cause for giving up watermelon this summer. Can you imagine? We don’t think we could make it through the sweltering season without our favorite, juicy fruit.

What it comes down to is arming ourselves with knowledge! Here at TipHero, we went looking for the secret to finding the ripest watermelon — and we found just the thing. This video from Waterfront Hy-Vee features a produce manager (fondly known as “produce manager Dan”) who lets us in on the secret to choosing the perfect watermelon.

First, the melon should be heavy for its size.

When you pick up a ripe watermelon, it should feel decently heavy, even if it’s on the smaller side. What constitutes “heavy” will obviously vary from person-to-person, but let’s just say you should be surprised when you pick up the right melon.

Second, the fruit should make this sound when you knock on it.

It probably seems weird, but try rapping your knuckles against the watermelon. What you should hear is one of two noises: a “thudding” noise or a hollow sound with a bit of an echo.

You WANT the hollow, echo sound and want to avoid anything that sounds too dense.

Finally, check for the “yellow belly.”

The “yellow belly” of a watermelon is the part of the melon that was on the ground when it was growing. In theory, the larger the yellow spot is, the riper the fruit should be.

 

Do you have any tips for picking out the perfect watermelon? Have you ever tried this technique? Did it work for you?