![]() Our chart of watermelon ripeness and flavor as measured by various criteria. The percent sugar and taste correlated well in the results. Tasting allows us to gather and compare all the aspects of a ripe watermelon sweetness, acid, texture, and moisture. When it comes down to peak ripeness, however, a lot can be said for taste. A refractometer uses the fact that water refracts (bends) light differently with different concentrations of sugar to determine the percent sugar, in degrees Brix, in the watermelon juice. We determined the ripeness by the aid of a refractometer and our taste buds. Watch the results in this video or read the results below. We found the weight on a kitchen scale and found the volume by dipping the melons in a 5-gallon bucket and finding how much water they displaced. To test this criteria, we went further than the average picker and measured the melons by the weight as compared to volume. I interpret “heavy” as heavy for its size, and not heavy compared to the rest, or else I will almost always come home with the largest watermelon! Nearly every farmer you talk to will tell you to “pick a heavy one” when choosing watermelons. We tested each watermelon 8 times, with each twig being tested once on each side of the melon. In a room with minimal wind, we tested the theory by placing the straw in the center, perpendicular to the stem/bloom-end orientation. If the melon is ripe, the straw will turn to a 45-degree angle if it is green, it will not move.” The subsequent January issue proposes the straw test works by the electrical force present in the watermelons.įor the straw test, we obtained 3 broom straws from 2 different brooms, and a “green” Johnson grass twig harvested just before the test. A picker places “a broom straw horizontally across a watermelon. Many watermelon aficionados continue to trust this unique method after many decades of use.Ī November 1945 issue of Popular Science describes the method of the straw test. The straw test was surely the most interesting and fun to try. The Straw Test for Ripe Watermelon: Myth or Fact? An instrument would not be able to help us judge the relative ripeness of a watermelon. We found that we needed the other melons to determine qualities such as pitch and color. We could have used scientific instruments for each test, but if the results are too close for us to distinguish by our senses, then they are no good to us in the field or in the kitchen. This is really the true measure we are after anyway: the tastiest melon, right?įirst, we used our senses to determine appearance, bottom color (yellow spot), firmness, and pitch. Granted, that’s a subjective measure, but she has a pretty good palate. ![]() Stacy Lyn will then take a bite of each melon to give it the taste test. This instrument measures the percentage of sugar content in the melons. We’re going to measure our watermelon ripeness scientifically with a refractometer. Straw will spin when placed on ripe watermelon.Knock producing deep pitch = best ripe melon hollow sound = unripe melons.Yellow ground spot / field spot, instead of the white bottom that indicates unripe melons.The indications for the best watermelons that we’ll test are: These tests should work whether you get your melon straight off the vine, from a farmers’ market, or from the grocery store. With six watermelons, we will explore six traditional indications for judging a good watermelon. The more I thought about it, however, the more I suspected at least one of those tricks to be mere myth or lore. Today, my son and I want to separate fact from fallacy by putting each of these methods to the test. These signs I took for granted, assuming most of them to be tried and true. I took you through the paces of choosing the perfect ripe watermelon through various outward indications. Earlier this month, I published an article on harvesting watermelons.
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