Kitchen

[lynnie61]

I live in SW PA. I’ve had 6 or 7 watermelons. You can barely find a seeded one here.  I think one was great, two were so so and 3 were mushy and barely pink.  So sad, it’s one of my favorite foods!!!

[Nightowlz]

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@Bridgegal wrote:

I love watermelon.   I prefer ones with seeds.  I think the seedless ones have less flavor.

But my favorite is a yellow watermelon.   I stumbled across a quarter of one in early June and it was so good.  Today they had a big box of them, whole, outside the door.   I was excited and expected to see some cuts inside but they didn't have any; only big whole ones.  Boo.

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@Bridgegal 

We've ate the yellow & the orange. They are both good but we like the yellow better. We have already ate quite a few watermelons. Now that peaches are here we are eating those.

[Sooner]

A lot of the mushy ones are probably over ripe because they couldn't get in muddy fields to pick them.  Or had trouble finding workers.

Thick rinds are because they ship them so far.  Newer varieties can't compete with the taste of heirloom melon varities.

We had terrible melons last year, and pretty good ones so far this year.   The best ones near here are from Rush Springs OK.

[sfnative]

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@Nightowlz wrote:

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@Bridgegal wrote:

I love watermelon.   I prefer ones with seeds.  I think the seedless ones have less flavor.

But my favorite is a yellow watermelon.   I stumbled across a quarter of one in early June and it was so good.  Today they had a big box of them, whole, outside the door.   I was excited and expected to see some cuts inside but they didn't have any; only big whole ones.  Boo.

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@Bridgegal 

We've ate the yellow & the orange. They are both good but we like the yellow better. We have already ate quite a few watermelons. Now that peaches are here we are eating those.

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@Nightowlz 

@Bridgegal 

We just purchased a black skinned watermelon for the first time.  It's big and round - kinda huge.  Can't wait until it cools in the frig to try it out.  I'm a watermelon lover my whole life.

[Jinlei]

It must have been the weather. All the ones in my area are small.

[mousiegirl]

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@Imaoldhippie wrote:

I bought a quarter of a watermelon at Walmart Grocery yesterday.  It was nice and red, juicy looking.

When I cut it last night for hubby and I I could hardly get the knife through the rind.

When we ate it the fleshy part was tough.  Never have I had a tough watermelon until last night.  It was hard to get a bite cut with a fork.

Weird.

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@Imaoldhippie   I have heard that a good watermelon is one with a large yellow area and a very heavy one, the weight indicates it is full of water so juicy, and the yellow area means it was left on the vine to ripen thoroughly.  I just bought another one at Costco so will know later today.  I suppose it is always hit or miss.

"Watermelons that are too ripe have soft and mushy flesh. ... The most common method is to thump the watermelon lightly; a hollow sound indicates ripeness while a muffled, dull sound may indicate over-ripeness."

[mousiegirl]

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@sfnative wrote:

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@Nightowlz wrote:

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@Bridgegal wrote:

I love watermelon.   I prefer ones with seeds.  I think the seedless ones have less flavor.

But my favorite is a yellow watermelon.   I stumbled across a quarter of one in early June and it was so good.  Today they had a big box of them, whole, outside the door.   I was excited and expected to see some cuts inside but they didn't have any; only big whole ones.  Boo.

---

@Bridgegal 

We've ate the yellow & the orange. They are both good but we like the yellow better. We have already ate quite a few watermelons. Now that peaches are here we are eating those.

---

@Nightowlz 

@Bridgegal 

We just purchased a black skinned watermelon for the first time.  It's big and round - kinda huge.  Can't wait until it cools in the frig to try it out.  I'm a watermelon lover my whole life.

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@sfnative   When I was a baby, my Mother would feed me watermelon juice, so have always loved it.

[Kachina624]

I thump them.  The one with the dullest thump wins

 My dad, the farm boy, taught me.

[IamMrsG]

@GrailSeeker   I am surmising the Watermelon Feta Salad recipe you tried was one I shared recently in the Recipes forum.  I am sorry to learn you did not have success with it.  Was it due to the bad watermelon?  Or was there some other issue?  

I immediately double checked for typos in the recipe, but it is accurate as posted.  Is there anyway I can help you with it for better results next time (if you're willing to try it again)?  I accept we don't all have the same palate for foods, but I found this salad to be delicious -- in spite of the mint, which I normally don't care for -- so am sorry you trusted and were disappointed by my recommendation.  

[IamMrsG]

"I thump them.  The one with the dullest thump wins"   --Kachina624

I don't have a sensitive ear, so I go by the yellow spot on the bottom.  The longer a fruit or vegetable stays on the mother plant, the more time is has to ripen.  The last place to ripen on a watermelon is the spot that touches the ground, so it stands to reason for me the smallest spot wins.  I buy a melon every week and have not had a bad one yet.