Watermelon – our favorite summer fruit

5+1 tips: How to choose the best watermelon!

Watermelon is - probably - the most favorite summer fruit! Both, its exterior appearance - with its beautiful summer colors and its internal look - with its reddish color, "challenges" you to try it... And when you try it, you can't stop just in one piece! If you could, you would eat it all at once.

But, to do that, you must first learn how to choose the best watermelon! The most succulent, fully ripe and sweet watermelon. In order to be "good", the watermelon needs to ripen before it is cut, so it will be juicy, red and – of course delicious... You have to remember that unlike other fruits, the watermelon never ripens since is being cut.

In this article you will find 5 + 1 tips about how to choose the best and most delicious - sweet watermelon ever!

Many people have no idea how to choose a watermelon. Some, simply, put in their basket the first - random watermelon they find, and others just knock on the watermelon waiting to hear something... I don’t know if they succeed in these techniques, but I know some others tips that can help you choose the “perfect” watermelon.

So, let’s start:

1. Color: A perfect, ripe watermelon should be dark green in color and dull in appearance, rather than shiny. A shiny watermelon will usually be under ripe.
2. “The field spot”: The yellow spot, known as the field spot, is the place where the watermelon rested on the ground. Ripe watermelons always have creamy yellow or even orange-yellow spots, instead of white or light green.

3. Look for "webbing": These weblike brown spots on the watermelon’s peel mean that bees touched the pollinating parts of the flower many times. The more pollination, the sweeter the fruit is.

4. Size and weight: It is better to choose neither the largest nor the smallest watermelon. Select an average-sized fruit. And note, please: large or small, the watermelon should feel heavy for its size. The heavier it is - the better!
5. “Boy” Vs “Girl” watermelons: Farmers differentiate watermelons by gender. The “boys” are bigger, have an elongated shape, and a watery taste. The “girls” have a rounded shape and a very sweet taste.

6. Tail: A dried tail indicates that the watermelon is ripe. However, if the tail is green, it probably means that the watermelon was picked too soon and will not be ripe. Extra tip: Pull the tail and if it comes out easily and doesn’t need to be twisted, that means that the watermelon was picked when it was ripe enough, so it will be very sweet.

Health Benefits:
Watermelon is a rich source of vitamin C and B, it has anti estrogenic action and helps in hydration, it also has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti- cancer benefits. Watermelon helps the blood pressure, strengthens digestion, and can help with constipation, as a natural remedy. It can relieve arthritis pains. It is beneficial to diabetes, and also can lower cholesterol levels and help in kidney stones. It is an ideal fruit for weight loss.

The information is purely informative and cannot, under any circumstances replace the advice of your doctor.

I hope that my tips will help you pick the "perfect" watermelon next time you go for shopping!